Sonic and the Tectonic Engine
by Manwards
Summary: When Dr. Eggman threatens to level Paladin City with his new doomsday device, the Tectonic Engine, it's up to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to travel deep underground and get to the core of his treacherous plan.
1. Chapter 1

The venerable Mayor Williams stood tall in the centre of the stage and swept his gaze over the crowd. The assembled throng stretched out before him like a living, breathing ocean, filling every square meter of space in the enormous stadium. He wondered if the entirety of Paladin City had turned out for the event. It wouldn't have surprised him in the least. 

It pleased him to see a smile upon any face he cared to examine. His own eyes twinkled, the closest thing to a smile he was willing to give in public. A dignified appearance was something hard-earned and easily lost, as his father used to say!

He had chosen a perfect day to hold the ceremony. The sky above the stadium was empty of clouds and shone a pure azure blue, and the gentle breeze did a fine job of keeping the pleasant summer sun in check. Beyond the stadium walls, the tall buildings that comprised Paladin's famous skyline twinkled in the sunlight. A perfect day indeed.

He waited a few moments longer, watching his citizens' excited faces, listening to the hum of anticipatory chatter, before finally speaking. "May I have your attention?" he asked, his good humour audible in his tone. The microphone in his hands broadcast his voice to loudspeakers at every corner of the stadium, and within mere seconds he had the rapt attention of untold thousands of people. The murmured conversation ceased as if a switch had been flicked and every pair of eyes focused eagerly on the stage.

Williams paused for a moment, more for dramatic effect than anything else. Behind him, at the rear of the stage, a mammoth screen stretched towards the sky, a live video feed relaying his image to even the most distant observer. Even approaching his golden years he looked every bit a distinguished leader. With his white hair neatly combed, his moustache carefully trimmed and his broad-shouldered frame clad in a finely tailored suit, he seemed to radiate benevolent authority.

"Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls of Paladin City," he continued. "It is an honour to stand before you on such a grand occasion. We are known to many as the City of Heroes, and I believe there are none who deserve such a title more than our guests today."

At this, excited chatter and scattered cheers sounded from the crowd below. Williams waited patiently for them to subside before continuing. "Without their noble and selfless actions, our fine city and countless others across the world would stand no more. Their legends are known by old and young and they appear at the signs of disaster as if born from a wish, but they are rarely seen in less troubled times. As such, I consider it my great privilege to bring them before you today."

More animated chatter from the crowd. The anticipation was building, and Williams had no intention of making them wait. "Without any further delay, I'd like to welcome them onstage. Good people of Paladin City, I give you Knuckles the Echidna, Miles 'Tails' Prower and Sonic the Hedgehog!"

The crowd of thousands, who until that moment had shown remarkable restraint and patience, erupted at the names of their heroes. A great cheer almost deafened Williams, and it only grew louder as a small shape climbed onto the stage. No more than four feet high, he was nevertheless an imposing figure as he strode confidently to the centre to stand beside the Mayor. Deep red fur shone brightly and amethyst eyes took in the rapturous crowd. Long spines hung down from his head like dreadlocks and hands almost as large as his head were by his sides, each white glove equipped with a duo of sharp spikes that lent him his namesake.

Knuckles was quickly joined by a second figure. Barely topping three feet tall, a tiny fox with orange fur gave the crowd a cheery wave. Behind his back a pair of bushy, white-tipped tails twirled and spun lazily. Dazzling sapphire-blue eyes glinted with a blend of childish virtue and sharp intellect and an amiable smile sat upon his white muzzle. By birth his name was Miles Prower, but he was better known by the apt moniker of "Tails".

A chant began to echo around the stadium, rapidly growing in volume until Mayor Williams was certain that every man, woman and child in attendance was shouting with all their might. He didn't so much hear the sound as feel it.

"SO-NIC! SO-NIC! SO-NIC!"

Knuckles and Tails each took a few steps backwards, leaving the front of the stage clear. Long moments passed as the crowd eagerly scanned the sides of the stage, looking for any sign of their hero. It was several seconds before anybody located him, and a collective gasp sounded around the stadium. One moment the front of the stage had been empty, the next it was occupied. A flash of blue light and a sharp gust of wind had been the only signs of his arrival.

Sonic the Hedgehog casually stepped to the front of the stage, raised one gloved hand in the classic "thumbs-up" gesture, and gave the crowd before him a wide grin. An awed silence filled the stadium as thousands of eyes, wide with wonder and amazement, gazed up at him… but it didn't last for long. A cheer went up, so loud and so prolonged that Williams' ears began to ring and he made a mental note to buy earplugs if he ever had this privilege again.

Sonic strolled from one end of the stage to the other, looking perfectly at ease before the titanic audience. Adulation flowed from them to him like waves upon a shore. His spines, an eye-pleasing royal blue in colour, bobbed gently up and down with his footsteps. His eyes were a deep jade and they darted keenly from person to person, his attention never focused in one place for long.

In the crowd, people hopped up and down excitedly, shouting and waving and yelling with glee when he waved back. Williams noted with amusement a girl no older than fifteen almost fainting when Sonic shot her a wink. She was supported by a young man with an annoyed frown on his face, ostensibly her boyfriend. Looking to his right, Williams noticed Knuckles leaning across to Tails and speaking into the fox's pointy ear; Tails put one hand over his mouth and giggled.

After a full sweep of the stage, Sonic returned to the centre to stand between his friends. Williams watched them as they effortlessly commanded the attentions of the crowd. How many battles had they fought for no reason other than the goodness of their hearts and strength of their spirits? How many innocent lives had they saved? How many disasters averted? They were truly worthy of being called heroes.

He snapped out of his reverie and outstretched his hand. Sonic reached up and grasped it, giving it a firm shake. Green eyes locked with Williams' and for a moment he saw brilliance within them, a youthful playfulness united with the utmost compassion and respect. The combined flare of a hundred flashbulbs bathed the pair in white light. Tails was next to shake his hand, followed by Knuckles, whose grip was almost uncomfortably firm.

Williams turned to address the crowd. "Before we commence with the ceremony proper," he said, "I'll let our guests say a few words." A roar of approval issued from the crowd. Williams turned his head to look down at young Tails. "Mr. Prower, would you like to go first?"

The fox nodded and accepted the microphone. He stepped to the front of the stage and cleared his throat. His twin tails had begun to twirl more quickly, and Williams absently wondered if it was a nervous reaction to being in front of so many people.

"Hey everybody!" he said cheerily, his high, boyish voice betraying none of the nervousness Williams had suspected a moment earlier. "It sure is great to be here! Paladin is a great city and I'm honoured – we all are – to be here today. Check it out…" He reached behind his back and retrieved a small book, apparently from nowhere. Whether it was a parlour trick or a hidden pocket of some sort, Williams couldn't tell. The back of the book was illustrated with a map that he recognised as Paladin City and the surrounding area.

Tails held the book aloft. "I even got the tourist handbook!" he said blithely. Laughter sparkled up from the crowd, almost drowned out by a wave of applause. Tails giggled. "Thanks, everyone, and have a great day!" Stepping backwards, he handed the microphone to Knuckles, who took centre stage and waited for the crowd to fall quiet once more.

"It's an honour to be here in the City of Heroes," he began, his deep voice immediately seizing the crowd's attention. "A hero is defined as somebody of distinguished courage or ability, who is admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. As the sole remaining member of my species and guardian of the sacred Master Emerald, it's essential that I practice these and many other qualities. I feel that I belong in the Hall of Heroes, alongside so many other great warriors. In fact-"

He was cut short as Sonic plucked the microphone from his grasp and spoke himself. "Geez, Knuckles!" he said with mock exasperation. "They didn't ask for your life story!" Thunderous laughter erupted around the stadium and Knuckles' peach-coloured cheeks momentarily turned the same shade of crimson as the rest of his fur. He glared angrily at Sonic for a moment, before haughtily sticking his nose in the air and folding his arms.

Sonic shrugged and turned to face the crowd. A smile lit up every face as he spoke. "So, I guess some of you have heard of me?" The crowd gave a spate of laughter, and Sonic grinned back. "If I can be serious, what we do," – he gestured to himself, to Tails and Knuckles behind him – "isn't for the rewards or the fame. Adventure and excitement are what I live for, and if I can help people out too, then all the better." He turned to look at the Mayor. "Even so, that doesn't mean I don't appreciate being here, and I wouldn't dream of turning down an award like this. Thanks, Mr. Mayor."

Williams gave him an appreciative nod. Sonic turned back to the crowd. "At the risk of doing a Knuckles and boring you all," – behind him, Knuckles' frown deepened another inch – "I'd just like to say that anybody can be a hero. You don't have to save the world. You just need a good heart and the courage to use it." He paused, thinking. "I guess that's all I've got to say," he said after a moment. "Thanks, everybody!"

He handed the microphone back to the Mayor, who once more addressed the crowd. "Now that everybody has had a chance to speak," he said, "we'll commence with the ceremony."

"Not quite everybody!" boomed a voice that didn't belong to Williams, nor to the three heroes. It seemed to be emanating from the loudspeakers dotted about the stadium. "Don't I get a chance to speak too?" It was not a pleasant voice, rather it was snide, with a tone of superiority. The crowd looked around, puzzled, but their attention was soon diverted as the enormous screen behind the stage fizzled with static. As they – and the four onstage – watched, the static resolved into a new image.

The crowd gasped with recognition as they looked upon the round face of a middle-aged man. He was entirely bald, with all the hair on his head instead sprouting from either side of his large ruddy nose in a thick brown handlebar moustache. Dark glasses obscured his eyes. His image looked down at Sonic and his friends, as if he could actually see them, and his lips parted to reveal a wide, toothy grin.

"Ho ho ho ho!" he cackled. "So nice to see you again, Sonic!"

"Eggman!" exclaimed Sonic. He clenched his fists and stared up at the enormous screen. "What are you up to this time?"

"What indeed?" replied the interloper. Despite the concern Mayor Williams felt at the appearance of the notorious mad scientist, he couldn't help but wonder how Dr. Eggman could see and hear them. "Since your little ceremony has attracted the full attention of the city," continued Eggman, apparently not bothered by logic, "I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make my announcement!"

"And what announcement is that?" asked Knuckles tersely. His hands clenched and unclenched slowly. Eggman threw back his head and laughed. "It just so happens I have in my possession a new weapon!" he said finally. "An incredibly powerful weapon, at that! In fact, you might call it a doomsday weapon! Ho ho!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Get to the point, Doc," he said. "We're on a schedule here."

"Impatient as always, I see!" Eggman boomed. "Very well, I'll tell you exactly what I plan to do." His head turned slightly to the left. Somehow feeling the madman's gaze on him, Mayor Williams took an involuntary step backwards. "Mr. Mayor," said Eggman, "I suggest you listen closely. I have in my possession a weapon that can level your city in a single blow. If you do not surrender Paladin City to me within 24 hours, it will quite simply cease to exist."

A cacophony of gasps, shouts and screams came from the terrified crowd. Williams turned to them and spoke into the microphone, his voice carefully composed. "Ladies and gentlemen, please, remain calm," he told them. They did, and Williams inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He turned back towards Eggman's gigantic visage. "What do you intend to do with Paladin City?" he demanded.

"It's a fine city," replied Eggman. "Large, solidly built and surrounded by mountains on three sides for easy defence. In other words, it will be the perfect cornerstone for the Eggman Empire!"

Sonic sighed. "You're _still_ trying to do the Empire thing?" He shook his head. "You need a new hobby, Doc." Eggman ignored him, his attention still focused on the Mayor. "24 hours is more than enough time to evacuate all of your citizens. You can't say I'm not being fair. So, what's it going to be?"

Williams stared back at him, his gaze like steel. "I won't surrender this city without a fight," he said firmly. The crowd behind his back was abuzz with nervous chatter, torn between fear and indignation. They waited for the scientist to speak again.

"Very well," Eggman said after a moment's consideration. "I expected resistance. After all, this is the City of Heroes, is it not? To help you make up your mind, I've sent a… hmm, let's call them a 'coercion force', shall we?"

Williams' eyes widened as he considered the implications of these words. He didn't have to consider them for long. His attention was jerked to the sky as a cluster of shapes appeared over the walls of the stadium and descended rapidly towards the stage. They landed in a rough circle, surrounding them. Williams counted a dozen in total. Robots, perhaps six feet tall and humanoid in design, with some kind of weapon mounted on the end of their right arm. Weapons that were aimed at him, and at the three heroes beside him.

On-screen, Eggman howled with laughter. "What do you say now, Mr. Mayor?" he cackled. "Starting to see things my way?" It was Sonic's voice that replied. "Guess again, Eggman!" He turned quickly to the Mayor. "Mayor, get to safety and take everybody with you. We'll take care of Eggman."

The next few moments were the longest and most difficult of Williams' life. He looked up at the grinning, malevolent face of the insane doctor. He looked into the dark barrel of the weapon pointed squarely at his chest. He looked back at his citizens, thousands upon thousands of them, powerless to move or speak and staring up at him with wide, fearful eyes. Finally, he looked down at Sonic.

"Trust me," the hedgehog said. His mouth was set in determination but his eyes were devoid of fear or doubt. Looking into them, Williams believed in him. He could stop Eggman, and he would. He smiled in spite of his fear and gave the hero a brief nod, and turned his eyes up to Eggman. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but I'm afraid my answer is still no. I will not surrender Paladin City."

Eggman's brow creased and his features darkened with anger. Clearly, this was not the response he had been expecting. "Then you leave me no choice!" he cried. "In 24 hours time, there will be nothing left of this city but a hole in the ground!"

He turned to look down at the three heroes. "Don't even think of trying to stop me!" he bellowed. Sonic exchanged a quick glance with Tails and Knuckles, and gave the screen a smirk. "Eggman, how long have we known each other?" he asked. "Do you reallythink we'd just let you get away with something like this?"

Eggman appeared to quiver with rage. "Then be destroyed!" He looked down at his robots. "Attack!" he cried. "Eliminate Sonic the Hedgehog!" At his command, the robots all swivelled to face Sonic. Twelve weapon-tipped arms locked into place, all pointed at him. Sonic glanced over at the Mayor. "Go!" he shouted. "Now!" Williams didn't need to be told twice. He turned and ran from the stage, quickly descending the steps that led to the ground.

Confident that he was safe, Sonic turned to his friends. "Knuckles," he said, "I guess we get an even split, six each. Sound fair?" Knuckles smirked and pounded his rock-like fists together. "Sounds about right to me," he replied. "Tails," continued Sonic. "Is there any way to find out where Eggman is located?" Tails nodded. "I should be able to triangulate the signal-" he began, but Sonic interrupted him. "Don't talk about it, do it!" he said emphatically. Tails gave another brief nod. "I'm on it!"

A high-pitched whine filled the air, the sound of the robots' weapons charging. "Attack!" Eggman repeated from the screen behind them. "Destroy them!" Sonic hopped into the air just as the robot in front of him and the robot behind him fired simultaneously. Thick beams of red light sizzled through the air and struck the robot opposite, burning right through their metallic chests. The pair clattered to the floor, their charred innards smoking.

Tails charged towards another robot, tucking and rolling to avoid a laser blast. His momentum carried him right between the robot's spindly legs. He uncurled and ran on. The robot's torso swivelled 180 degrees to track him, not noticing the red echidna that approached from behind. A spiked fist slammed into the back of its head, crumpling it like a paper cup. The crippled contraption stood upright for a moment before pitching forward like a toppling tree.

Sonic darted for another trio of armed automatons, moving too quickly for even their advanced targeting systems to accurately pinpoint. They fired in sequence, all three beams slicing harmlessly through empty air. A spinning blue ball of spines descended upon them. Sonic bounced off one robot, smashed into the second and ricocheted into the third. All three of them collapsed, fizzing and sparking.

Several robots still remained. Knuckles grabbed one of them by its legs and swung it around like an Olympian swinging a hammer. After several rotations he released it and it rocketed through the air like a missile, impacting with one of its fellows, causing the both of them to explode. Their component parts scattered in every direction.

Three of the remaining four surrounded him, their weapons charging. Knuckles reacted without thinking, allowing his instincts to take over. He pivoted to the left, narrowly avoiding a laser blast, and bought his right arm up, striking one attacker with a fierce uppercut. Its head was knocked clean off by the blow. Knuckles ducked, dodging another scathing beam, and swung his right arm. His fist connected with the second robot's chest, punching a hole in the polished metal.

Knuckles span around just in time to see the third opponent fire. He tumbled to one side, avoiding the projectile by scant inches, opened his arms wide and then brought them together. Stone fists slammed into either side of the robot's torso, spiked knuckles tearing through alloy and circuits and meeting in the middle. He pulled them loose and the robot fell uselessly to the deck beside the others.

He turned to face the sole survivor. It stood perhaps five meters away, its weapon aimed at him. Knuckles dropped to a crouch, his muscles tensed, ready to react. He didn't have to. A sudden gust of wind ruffled his spines and he saw a blue blur of motion in his peripheral vision. A second later, Sonic struck the remaining robot like a cannonball. It hurtled into the air and slammed into the enormous image of Dr. Eggman, leaving a spider web of cracks across his features.

Eggman's splintered face frowned. Sonic thought it resembled a cracked mirror. The good doctor had probably seen plenty of those in his time. "You win this round," Eggman admitted, "but the final victory will be mine. Once I have activated the Tectonic Engine, this great city will be reduced to rubble – not to mention any other city I feel like levelling – and I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it, Sonic!"

"We'll see about that!" replied Sonic, unmoved by the mad doctor's threats.

"Sonic!" Tails' voice rang out. He came running over, smiling triumphantly. "I got a fix on his location. He's right outside the city!" Sonic smiled and patted the fox on the shoulder. "Good job, Tails!" He looked up at Eggman. "You hear that, Eggbreath? We're coming for you!" He looked over at Knuckles. The echidna gave a short nod, confirming his co-operation.

"Do as you wish!" boomed Eggman. "It will be the last thing you ever do! Ho ho ho ho!" His maniacal laughter still echoing throughout the arena, the image fizzed to static and the screen went blank.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles turned around to see that several thousand people still occupied the stadium. They had witnessed the entire battle, choosing to watch their heroes in action rather than flee. An awe-struck silence fell over them as the heroes stood victorious, surrounded by smoking pieces of metal that only a minute ago had been lethal weapons. The silence was replaced by applause that grew in intensity until it shook the floor beneath their feet.

Mayor Williams stepped out from the crowd and ascended to the stage once more. He held the microphone in his hands. "Sonic, Tails, Knuckles," he said, shaking their hands again. "I cannot thank you enough for what you've done, but…" He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. Sonic took a step towards him and spoke into the microphone.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Mayor!" he said brightly. "I haven't seen a doomsday device yet that I can't dismantle!" He turned to his friends. "Come on, guys, clock's ticking!" Without another word he turned on his heels and sprinted away, red sneakers spinning like a vortex. He reached the edge of the stadium in mere seconds, dashed vertically up the steep wall, and disappeared over the top. "Sonic, wait!" the Mayor called after him. Tails stepped up to the microphone. "Don't worry, Mr. Mayor," he said. "He'll be back soon."

"What makes you say that?" asked Williams. Tails hesitated for a moment before replying matter-of-factly, "He doesn't know where Eggman is."


	2. Chapter 2

For most people, the aurally pleasing name of the Lithic Sierra Zone would be its sole redeeming feature. Surrounding Paladin City on three sides and stretching for miles in every direction, it was a sprawling range of mountains whose sharp peaks reminded most of the teeth of a rusty saw. 

Sonic the Hedgehog, however, was not most people. Standing upon a high summit, the arid landmass before him was an obstacle course of epic proportions. His eyes traced the innumerable slopes and ridges and his feet itched to get moving again. Still, following his premature departure from Paladin City it was probably best to know where he was going first. He turned to the young fox at his right.

"So where's the Doc hiding?" he asked. Tails didn't look up from the book in his hands. Among many other things, the Paladin City Tourist Handbook contained detailed maps of the Zone for the use of any would-be hikers… or adventurers, of course. After consulting the guide for a few moments more he looked up. "Well, based on the co-ordinates of the signal I extrapolated from the hijacked monitor," he began, "we can approximate-"

Beside him, Knuckles coughed loudly. Tails halted his wordy discourse and giggled sheepishly. "Sorry." He raised an arm and pointed. "You see that especially tall mountain in the distance?" Sonic and Knuckles located it and each gave a quick nod. "Eggman's signal came from beneath it," Tails explained. "There's probably a tunnel somewhere at the base."

"I'll see you there!" cried Sonic, and he was off and running before either of his companions could reply. He accelerated rapidly until his red sneakers pounded the ground several times per second, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. His eyes scanned the dusty rock that lay between him and the distant mountain. It was at least a mile away, perhaps two. In moments he had discerned the quickest – and most exciting – route to take.

The wind tugged at his long blue spines as he ran. Sonic leaned into it, enjoying the feel of the crisp breeze on his face. His arms were spread out beside him like a child imitating an aeroplane. Before him, the peaks of the tightly-packed mountains were steeply undulating hills and he hopped freely from top to top like a stone skipping across a lake.

Sonic rushed onwards. The ground beneath his feet began to slope downwards, the gentle grade quickly becoming more severe. Slowing down now was not an option, but then, it never was for him. Ahead, the rocky ground reached its lowest point and then sharply rose again, forming a concave bowl shape. Sonic curled into a ball as he reached the bottom of the slope, sheer impetus carrying him up the other side and launching him into the air as if fired from a cannon.

He turned six complete somersaults before uncurling and taking a look down. The mountains were thirty feet below and getting further away still as his upward momentum continued to carry him higher. Sonic closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with fresh mountain air. Finally, gravity, forever a spoilsport, managed to wrestle him back under its control and he began to fall.

Sonic considered his options. To the left there was a wide, flat platform of rock that would provide a perfectly safe landing pad. To the right, a dark fissure led to untold danger. It wasn't a difficult choice to make. Sonic angled himself to the right and leaned into the fall, his nose pointed towards the ground and arms thrown back in a classic swan dive.

The fissure loomed closer and closer, looking like the jaws of some great stone beast, until it finally swallowed him whole. Sonic flipped over and his heels found purchase on solid rock. He was running again, descending deeper into a long tunnel. It was so dark inside that he could barely see his (admittedly black) nose in front of his face. He was thankful to see the soft sparkle of daylight some distance ahead. He charged towards it, the gleam becoming a glimmer that became a glow, before he finally burst back into the sunlight.

He'd emerged from the side of the mountain on a narrow path that zigzagged across a wide chasm. The thought occurred to slow down and cross with caution… after all, those jagged rocks that punctuated the ground several hundred feet below didn't look overly friendly. But on the other hand…

He tore across the narrow strip of rock at breakneck speed, swerving from side to side to avoid falling. Halfway across, his sharp ears picked up a harsh cracking sound, almost like the sound of rock crumbling. Almost _exactly_ like the sound of rock crumbling, in fact. He looked down at the network of cracks that had begun to spread across the path. The entire thing was about to collapse, upset by either the weight or velocity of the hedgehog speeding across its surface.

Thirty feet remained. Twenty-five feet. Twenty. All the time, the cracking sound grew louder. Ten feet remaining, and the path finally gave way. Sonic dived forwards, arms stretched out in front of him, just in time to see the rock below splinter into fist-sized chunks and plummet toward the distant ground. He landed shoulder-first on solid rock, rolling on impact and coming up running.

Sonic grinned as he saw what lay ahead. Cut into the side of this mountain – by nature or by an ambitious architect, he had no idea – was a large Moebius loop: a path that rose into the air and circled back around to its origin to form, as the name would suggest, a loop. Sonic loved these things. He entered it at full speed, his shoes providing traction as he ran up and around, his world momentarily turning upside down, before completing the 360 and rocketing out the other side.

The path then spiralled upwards, each revolution shorter than the last as the mountain thinned towards the summit. As he whirled around and around like an ascending tornado, he caught brief glimpses of Eggman's mountain, now only a short distance ahead. Reaching the top, he sprang the short distance to the next peak and kept moving. Fatigue was not a concept Sonic understood. His body was suffused with inexhaustible energy and his mind with limitless enthusiasm to use it.

Before him, towering above its peers, was the mountain Eggman had broadcast his ultimatum from. Tails had told him to look for a tunnel at the base and at a glance, Sonic couldn't see a convenient elevator leading down. In lieu of one, he ran on until the ground became a sharp downward slope, its gradient increasing by the second. It was a few moments before Sonic realised he was running vertically down the side of the mountain.

Ahead – or rather, below – amorphous lumps of rock jutted out, blocking his path. Sonic skilfully dodged them, moving faster and faster as gravity, usually a hindrance to him, pushed him towards the ground. Another chunk of rock loomed ahead, this one much too big to dodge. Sonic tucked himself into a tight ball and smashed right through it. There was no stopping him now. He plunged the remaining hundred feet and struck the ground with a resonant crash. Five seconds passed before he climbed out of the three-foot crater his landing had created, waving his hand to dispel the dense cloud of dust.

"Now that was-"

He paused as darkness enveloped him and spread quickly outwards like a pool of black liquid. He raised his eyes to the sky just in time to see the immense chunk of rock hurtling towards him, a hedgehog-shaped hole carved through its centre. Sonic took a casual step to the right, into the bright circle at the centre of the shadow. The rock crashed to the ground all around him and shattered into countless tiny fragments.

The dust cleared for a second time and Sonic the Hedgehog stepped forward, smiling and quite unharmed. "Now, as I was saying," he began again, vaguely addressing the pile of rock fragments at his feet, "_that_ was satisfying."

He set off around the side of the mountain, walking to allow his friends to catch up. It didn't take them long. Before he could find an entrance a whirring sound filled the air and Sonic looked up to see Tails descending towards him, waving an arm in greeting. His twin tails spun like a propeller, a unique ability that allowed him to hover like a helicopter. He touched down beside Sonic and gave his friend a cheery grin.

"Have any trouble finding the place?" asked Sonic, returning the smile. Tails shook his head and laughed. "I just followed the trail of dust you left!" He looked around expectantly. "I guess we just have to wait for-" He raised his eyebrows in surprise as the rock wall behind him exploded into a million pieces. Knuckles stepped through, idly brushing pieces of granite from his right glove. "Hey, guys," he said with a slight wave. "Did I miss anything?"

"Okay, I guess we just have to find the way in," Tails corrected. The trio resumed their search, carefully studying the base of the mountain for any sign of a concealed entrance. "This could take hours," Knuckles sighed after a few minutes. "Maybe it's best if we just smash our way in. Even if Eggman did use a tunnel he'll have covered it up by now. It's not like he's going to leave us a welcome sign."

"Oh yeah?" came Sonic's voice from up ahead. He grinned at the echidna. "Then what do you call that?" He pointed to something just out of their sight. Knuckles and Tails caught up and three pairs of bemused eyes sat upon a monitor suspended a few feet above the ground. The single word "Welcome" was indeed emblazoned on its screen. Behind it, a large opening had been carved into the rock and a tunnel stretched beyond. "Huh," remarked Knuckles. "Eggman's nothing if not surprising." Sonic shrugged. "Let's not keep him waiting!" he said, taking a step towards the entrance. Tails ran after him and grabbed his arm. "Sonic, wait!" he warned. "It could be a trap."

"There's no doubt it's a trap!" the hedgehog replied. "I just hope it's a good one." He continued on. After a moments hesitation Tails began to follow, Knuckles close behind. As they neared the welcome monitor, the word upon it faded and several more took its place. "'Dear Heroes,'" Tails read aloud, "'Welcome indeed to a most special occasion: the first day of the Eggman Empire, and the last day of your miserable lives. Ho ho ho ho. Signed, Doctor Eggman.'"

"I don't know what's weirder," Sonic mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That he signed his name at the end, or that he actually wrote 'ho ho ho ho'…"

* * *

The tunnel was wide enough for the three of them to walk abreast and they did so carefully and quietly. As much as Sonic longed to speed to the bottom of the shaft and take care of Eggman before he could cause any more trouble, he had to agree with Tails that they were probably walking into a trap.

The tunnel sloped downwards at a gentle angle, curving every now and then to form a tube that spiralled deep into the earth. It went on and on with no end in sight. Lanterns had been placed along the walls at regular intervals, so at least visibility wasn't a problem, but it seemed to Sonic that they'd been walking for hours. He opened his mouth to complain about their cautious pace, when Tails held up a hand and furrowed his brow in concentration.

"Do you hear that?" he whispered. Sonic and Knuckles pricked up their ears and listened. Silence filled the tunnel. Sonic strained to hear something. Nothing came. Tails frowned. "I'm sure I heard something," he insisted. "A sort of grinding noise, like something drilling into rock."

They all listened again. Silence was the only sound. "Never mind," Tails said with an embarrassed shrug. "I guess I was just getting paranoid." A moment later he was knocked off his feet as the tunnel began to vibrate violently. Sonic managed to keep his balance, as did Knuckles by steadying himself against the wall. "An earthquake?" the echidna wondered, shouting to make himself heard over the din.

A sort of grinding noise, like something drilling into rock drowned out any further conversation. With a deep crack the roof of the tunnel ahead collapsed and a massive shape dropped into view. Ten feet tall and fifteen feet wide, it blocked the route onward. It was a vehicle with caterpillar treads like a tank. Quite unlike a tank were the two enormous drills, several meters in length, flanking a stylised metallic recreation of an unpleasantly familiar face. A face comprised of black glasses, a red nose, a brown moustache and a white grin. "Not an earthquake," said Sonic. "Just our very own natural disaster, Dr. Eggman."

"HO HO HO HO!" boomed a deranged voice from the cockpit. Secure inside a transparent glass bubble, Eggman's appropriately egg-shaped frame shook with mirth. Clad in his red and black uniform, with white stripes on the sleeves and gold buttons on the chest, he looked to Sonic like a demented Easter egg. "Sonic! Tails! Knuckles!" he cried with mock astonishment. "What a surprise to meet you three here!"

"We can't allow you to destroy Paladin City!" called Tails. Eggman cackled in response. "You always think the worst of me!" he replied in a tone of feigned innocence. "I'm just going for a drive in my new boring machine! I call it the Egg Mole! What do you think?"

"We agree on one thing, Eggman," said Sonic, stifling a fake yawn. "It sure is boring." The doctor scowled. "I should have seen that one coming," he muttered. Knuckles took a step towards the contraption, waving a clenched fist at its general vicinity. "Is this the weapon that's going to destroy Paladin City?" he demanded to know. "Doesn't look like much to me." Eggman laughed derisively. "What, this? Oh my, no! This is more a means to an end!"

"A means to an end?" repeated Tails. Eggman nodded. "Why, yes! The Tectonic Engine is the weapon that will destroy your beloved Paladin City, unless the honourable Mayor sees the error of his ways and surrenders to me, of course. I'm merely using the Egg Mole to excavate it."

"The Tectonic Engine…" murmured Tails. "You mentioned that during the ceremony!" Eggman nodded again. "Very good! I'm glad somebody pays attention to what I'm saying!" He glared at Sonic, who returned an indifferent shrug. "I can't help it if you have a voice like chloroform, Doc."

"This Tectonic Engine," asked Knuckles, "What is it? It sounds familiar somehow." Sonic spoke up too. "And since we're asking questions, why would you need to tunnel beneath a mountain to find one of your own inventions? Even for you, that doesn't make any sense."

Eggman raised a gloved hand and smoothed his ridiculous moustache thoughtfully. "Very well!" he said after a moments consideration. "I'll explain my diabolical plan to you before I destroy you!" Sonic rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something sarcastic, but thought better of it. Knowing what the crazy old man was up to would make it easier to stop him, although it wasn't strictly necessary. His plans were all the same anyway.

"Are you sitting comfortably?" Eggman cried theatrically. "Then I'll begin!"

"Get to the point!" called Sonic. Eggman sighed. "Very well! Tell me, have you ever heard of the Erina Clan?" Sonic and Tails exchanged a questioning glance, but Knuckles nodded his head firmly. "I have," he replied. Eggman gestured for him to elaborate. Knuckles thought for a moment before speaking.

"I know of them only as a legend told among my people. They were an ancient tribe of hedgehogs who lived deep within the earth, emerging only at night to hunt for food. They were said to have the power to move the earth itself."

"It's more than a legend," Eggman explained. "They are real. Or, that is to say, they _were_ real. I'm afraid they've been extinct for hundreds of years. Their power to move the earth was also more than mere superstition. For you see-"

"The Tectonic Engine," Tails interjected. "They built it!"

"Quite right!" replied Eggman. "An ancient machine capable of reshaping the very earth! Can you imagine such power? The very planet would be putty in my hands!" He threw back his head and cackled maniacally. "I could tear it all down and rebuild it in my own image!" He swept an arm out dramatically. "At last, the Eggman Empire would reign supreme! Ho ho ho ho!"

"You're crazy, Eggman," Sonic retorted. "Even if this machine did exist, what makes you think it'll still work now? You said yourself that the Erina Clan became extinct hundreds of years ago!" Eggman shrugged nonchalantly. "Call it a hunch," he replied in a tone that suggested he knew more than he was saying. "We'll see soon enough! I've almost finished my excavation. A few more hours and the entire world will be mine to keep."

"You know we can't let you get away with this!" yelled Sonic. He took a step closer to the towering machine. Tails and Knuckles stepped up beside him. Eggman examined their determined expressions and smiled. "I suppose you can't," he concurred. "I'll just have to destroy you right now! What a pity… I rather hoped you'd be the first to bear witness to my Empire! I suppose I can't have my cake and eat it too."

"That'll be a first!" sniped Sonic. Eggman glowered at him. His hands tightened around the control sticks that piloted the vehicle. "That does it!" he cried. "Egg Mole, commence attack mode!" At his command, the machine whirred into action. The twin treads span and it began to roll towards them, an imposing shape that filled the tunnel from floor to ceiling. "This doesn't look so tough," Sonic mused, examining the approaching threat. "You know the drill, guys. Avoid the, uh, drills and attack the cockpit. Piece of cake!"

As if on cue, things got slightly more complicated. The big nose on the metal face that adorned the front of the craft glowed with red light and unleashed a thick beam of energy. It crackled through the air, casting a sickly pink glow along the walls. The heroes hadn't been expecting it, but that didn't make them an easy target. Tails dived to the left, Knuckles to the right, and Sonic leapt straight upwards. The laser passed under him and struck the wall of the tunnel behind, burning a smoking black hole into the rock.

He landed in a crouch and quickly glanced to either side to make sure his friends were safe. They were. He gave Eggman a wave. "Not bad!" he had to admit, "but now it's my turn!"

He charged the rumbling machine and sprang towards it, aiming to land on the dome of the cockpit. His timing was perfect, but unfortunately, so was Eggman's. The Mole's nose glowed and another beam of red light shot forth, aimed to intercept the incoming hedgehog's trajectory. Sonic saw the beam and reacted in a split second, twisting his body to one side. He felt the heat on his chest as the beam narrowly passed by before fizzling harmlessly into the wall.

The shot had missed, but it had served to stop Sonic's forward momentum. He landed on one hand and one knee, momentarily thrown off balance. The contraption continued to advance. Only a few meters away, the dual drills droned menacingly and angled towards him. Sonic regained his balance just in time to avoid them. He somersaulted into the air as the drills converged with a dreadful grinding sound and a shower of searing sparks. Curling into a ball, he impacted the glass dome of the cockpit and glanced off its hardened surface. He bounced backwards, landing on his feet beside Tails and Knuckles.

"Are you okay, Sonic?" asked Tails, concern evident in his voice. Sonic shot him a wide grin. "Never better!" he replied. He angled his nose towards the Egg Mole, approaching slowly but inexorably. The dome remained intact and unharmed. "Looks like this egg will take a few more hits to crack." The craft's nose glowed as it charged another scorching beam. The trio scattered once more as it fired but the shot was poorly aimed, sailing right over them and striking the ceiling above their heads.

There was a loud cracking sound, and Sonic realised it wasn't such a bad shot after all. The roof of the tunnel collapsed and chunks of rock as large as their heads rained down upon them. Knuckles deflected the larger pieces with his fists, while Sonic and Tails dived to one side to avoid being crushed. "Phew!" gasped Tails, climbing slowly to his feet. "That was a close one!" In his relief, he failed the notice the Egg Mole only ten meters behind him and closing quickly. Sonic didn't. "Tails!" he called. "Behind you!"

Tails span on his heels and came almost nose-to-nose with the monstrous machine. The double drills screamed and the fox froze like a deer caught in whirling steel headlights. He opened his mouth to yelp with fright when he felt a firm hand close around his wrist and pull him backwards. He turned and ran, his twin tails only inches from the deadly drills. His legs struggled to keep pace with his rescuer and they didn't stop until they were some distance away.

Relatively safe for the moment, Sonic released his grip on Tails' arm. "Thanks, Sonic!" Tails said gratefully. "You be careful!" Sonic told him, his voice kind rather than scolding. Tails' expression of gratitude became one of surprise and he ducked, grabbing Sonic's arm and pulling him to the ground alongside him. Half a second later a beam of light split the air above their heads. "You be careful too," replied Tails as the pair climbed to their feet. Sonic gave him an appreciative smile.

Knuckles joined them. "I'm going to take care of the nose," he said. "It's getting a little too warm in here." Sonic nodded his approval and gave Tails a wink. "I guess that means we get to be targets!"

The strategy decided, Knuckles advanced on the ever-approaching Egg Mole, keeping close to the ground. His red fur made him a difficult target to spot against the rock. Conversely, Sonic and Tails made themselves as visible as possible, hopping up and down and waving their arms manically. "Hey, Eggman!" Sonic called. "Bet you can't hit me from so far away!"

"Hah!" came Eggman's voice from the cockpit. "Never bet against a genius! Charge the nasal cannon!" He glanced up as a chunk of rock bounced off the glass in front of his nose. Another followed, and a third, as Sonic and Tails hefted pieces of the crumbled ceiling and hurled them at the Egg Mole. It was a move designed to get his full attention, and it worked. "Fire!" he commanded.

Glowing beams sliced through the air, all of them missing their mobile targets. Sonic and Tails each hopped over an errant shot; Tails tumbled to avoid a third; Sonic backflipped and allowed another to pass beneath him. "That does it!" seethed Eggman, his fat face flushing scarlet with anger. "Divert all power to the nasal cannon!" He hammered on the controls and the Egg Mole slowed, and then stopped altogether. The caterpillar tracks beneath it ground to a halt and the twin drills wound down. For a brief moment there was silence in the tunnel. Sonic and Tails watched as the so-called nasal cannon began to glow once more. The silence was replaced by a humming sound that grew louder as the nose glowed brighter.

Several moments passed. The hum grew louder. The nose glowed brighter. Tails took an uncertain step backwards. Sonic tensed, preparing to react. The red glow was almost blindingly bright now… and it served to mask the arrival of a similarly red echidna. Knuckles rapped on the domed cockpit with one huge fist and smirked at the surprised Eggman inside. "You know," he said casually, as if he weren't perched inches away from a metal nose filled with expanding destructive energy, "I've always wanted to do this."

"NO!" cried Eggman, but he was powerless to do anything but watch as Knuckles reared back and drove a spiked fist into the center of the nasal cannon with all his might. It crumpled inward, the screech of distressed metal audible even over the ever-rising hum of energy. "You idiot!" Eggman wailed from inside his bubble. "I can't stop the firing process and there's nowhere for the energy to go!" Knuckles shrugged. "Sounds like a design flaw to me," he replied. "You really should plan these things more carefully." Without waiting for a response he hopped back to the ground and ran.

The hum of energy was almost deafening now, the light within the crushed cannon a swirling crimson supernova. For a long moment it seemed to pause, silent and still as if frozen in time… before reaching critical mass and discharging. The heroes shielded their eyes as a tidal wave of red light erupted from the front of the Egg Mole and flooded the tunnel. A sound like the crack of thunder assailed their ears, all but drowning out the enraged scream from the cockpit. It took a long moment for their vision to clear and their ears to stop ringing.

They looked up to see that the Egg Mole was still mostly intact. The entire frame of the craft glowed a deep red and the acrid stench of burning stung the backs of their throats. As they watched, cracks began to spread like cobwebs across the hardened dome surrounding the cockpit. Sonic turned to Knuckles and gave him a thumbs up. "Good job, Knuckles!" he said. "Leave the rest to me!"

He took off running, speeding towards the doomed device without a second thought. Heat prickled his fur but he didn't falter. With only ten feet between himself and the Mole he launched himself off the ground and curled into a ball, arcing through the air and striking the cracked cockpit with the force of a falling comet.

He bounced off its surface, backflipping through the air and landing on his feet ten meters away. He watched as the labyrinth of cracks grew, spreading in every direction like an intricate map until they obscured Eggman's horrified face. Finally, unable to endure the stress any longer, the dome shattered, the piercing crash of breaking glass rebounding off the walls and echoing the length of the tunnel. A chain of small explosions went off like firecrackers along the frame of the Egg Mole. The ruined vehicle was buffeted from side to side before finally falling dead. Thick black smoke poured from every fissure. The crackle of flames and the creaking of metal were the only sounds to be heard.

"That was _way_ too easy!" said Sonic victoriously. Tails and Knuckles rushed up and the three exchanged congratulations. A dark silhouette among the wreckage shook an angry fist in their direction. "You won't get away with this!" Eggman cried vehemently. "You can't stop me from reaching the Tectonic Engine! You'll rue this day, Sonic the Hedgehog! You all will!" With that, he turned and fled.

"We should go after him," said Knuckles. "We can't allow him to reach the Engine." Sonic laughed. "Don't worry," he said dismissively. "He won't get far. Come on, guys!" He sprinted away, leaped the charred wreckage of the Egg Mole in a single bound and disappeared beyond the smoke. "Sonic, wait!" Tails called after him. His legs pumped, his tails spun into action and he tore off after the hedgehog. Not to be left behind, Knuckles dashed after them.

Finding Eggman wasn't difficult – in fact, it was even easier than Sonic had assumed – but it was puzzling. The heroes rounded one of the descending tunnel's gentle curves to find him standing fifty feet away, quite motionless, facing away from them with his hands raised above his head. The threesome exchanged incredulous glances before Knuckles broke into a smile. "He's surrendering!" he decided. "I guess he realised there was no way out this time, huh?"

Sonic shook his head from side to side and chuckled. "Knuckles, you always were the gullible one!" Knuckles folded his arms huffily and pouted. "Alright then, smart guy. If he's not surrendering, then why is he just standing there like that?" Sonic considered this for a moment. "I've known the Doc longer than anybody," he said, "and this doesn't fit the pattern." Tails nodded in agreement. "It must be a trap. Maybe he has some kind of fallback in case the Egg Mole didn't do the trick."

"Whatever he's up to," Sonic said, "I've never been the waiting type. Let's go and find out." The three cautiously made their way towards him, wary of stepping into – or onto – some kind of hidden trap. "Don't get too close," warned Tails, his voice a nervous whisper. They stopped a few paces away from Eggman. He seemed to be rooted to the spot, unable or unwilling to move. "So, Eggman…" Sonic began conversationally. "What's the-"

"Halt!" came a voice from behind him. Sonic froze in mid-sentence. He didn't recognise the voice. It was male and carried an authoritative weight. Sonic span around to face the new arrival and his eyes widened with surprise. There was not a single newcomer, but several of them. They were roughly his height and wore patterned tunics and hoods that concealed their faces. They carried spears and Sonic was able to make out intricate carvings on the shaft, owing to the fact that one sharp tip was pointed directly at his chest.

Two more strangers stood behind Knuckles and Tails, their spears similarly raised, and as Sonic watched more figures seemed to melt out of the walls around them. They were quickly surrounded on all sides. Sonic smiled at the stranger before him. "Pleased to meet you," he offered. The figure said nothing, instead taking a step forward, forcing Sonic to take a step back. Tails and Knuckles too were persuaded backwards until they stood in a rough square alongside Eggman.

"What do we do?" whispered Tails, the slight tremor in his voice suggesting he was frightened. Sonic gave him a reassuring smile. "Just take it easy. We don't know who these guys are yet." Beside them, Knuckles cleared his throat. "I believe I do," he said. "I recognise the markings on their clothes and weapons."

"You've seen them before?" asked Tails. "Where?" Before Knuckles could elaborate, the strange figures lowered their hoods to reveal faces crowned with long brown spines. They were hedgehogs. "I've seen them in paintings left behind by my ancestors," Knuckles said. "They're the Erina Clan."

"The Erina Clan?" gasped Tails. "But Eggman said they-"

"Indeed," came Eggman's voice from beside them, the first he had spoken since his apparent capture. "But it would appear that tales of their extinction are greatly exaggerated."

Sonic looked around at the crowd. Every face bore a suspicious expression and every spear was raised and pointed cautiously in their direction. A slight smile painted his lips. "Guys," he said, "it looks like this party is just getting started!"


	3. Chapter 3

Without a word from their captors, the quartet of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman were marched deeper into the twisting tunnel. They descended in a slow spiral for such a long time that Sonic began to suspect they'd soon emerge on the other side of the planet.

He glanced to either side at his companions, welcome and otherwise. Tails looked worried, but Sonic knew he'd keep his cool. He was young, but he was no coward. Neither was Knuckles. There was a determination and strength in his indigo eyes that Sonic couldn't help but admire just a little. As for Eggman? Sonic surreptitiously studied the old man's round face. His lips were drawn together and his eyes were unreadable behind his dark-tinted glasses. This was clearly not part of his plan. Sonic suspected that he was already plotting his escape.

They passed a machine adorned with twin drills, similar in design to the Egg Mole, but smaller and with no cockpit. Sonic assumed it was an automatic model, designed to do the bulk of the tunnel-digging. It did have one thing in common with its larger cousin: it was now a charred, smoking heap of metal. Sonic waved a gloved hand to dispel some of the choking black fumes as they slowly passed by.

Beyond that point, the tunnel became more narrow and they were forced to travel in single file. Sonic went first, followed by Tails and Knuckles, with Eggman last and obviously least. Spear-wielding Erinas flanked them lest they should attempt an escape. An eternity, perhaps two, passed by. Sonic yearned to break free and run. It didn't matter to where. Walking was just so slow and downright dull. He itched to blast off down the tunnel and deal with the consequences as they came, but he couldn't leave his friends behind. Knuckles could (and would) take care of himself, but there was no way he'd abandon Tails to fend for himself. He'd just have to bite the bullet and do the W-word.

_Wait._

They turned a corner and came to an abrupt stop. Sonic's heart sank into his sneakers as he saw what lay ahead. Nothing! More precisely, a rock wall. The tunnel was a dead end. He stifled a groan. Now they'd have to turn around, go back the way they'd came and find another route. He couldn't take much more slow, silent walking. He was giving serious thought to grabbing Tails and making a dash for freedom when the Erina guard at the head of the queue began to speak.

"Ignius, Guardian of the Sacred Machine," he spoke, "I beg of you: grant me passage."

He was addressing the wall in front of his face. As he finished speaking, the walls of the tunnel began to vibrate. The scrape of rock-on-rock was heard and the supposed dead end rose up into the ceiling to reveal another room beyond. The guards stepped through and Sonic followed. He glanced around at their new surroundings.

"Whoa."

It was the only word he could think to say. They were standing in a cavern so enormous it dwarfed any of the castles and caves Sonic had ever visited. He craned his neck upwards to locate the ceiling. He couldn't. Thick square pillars carved right out of the rock stretched up from the floor into impenetrable darkness. On the spacious walls were intricate paintings, vividly depicting battles and ceremonies in what Sonic could only assume was the entire history of the Erina Clan. Spaced between them were dozens of glowing torches, the only source of light in the cavern. There were almost as many armed and armoured Erina guards lining the perimeter of the room.

The three heroes gazed about the place in wonder. Even Eggman seemed to admire the craftsmanship that had carved the cavern from nothing more than solid rock. They were led deeper into the room, ascending wide steps cut into the ground. A chair came into view. No, not a chair. A throne. Like everything else, it was huge and carefully chiselled out of the rock. It was decorated with swirling patterns and symbols of every colour, much like the tunics the guards wore, and as they came closer Sonic spotted a figure perched upon its seat. The four prisoners were stopped, while the lead guard went ahead. He knelt before the throne and bowed his head. "Empress," he said, his voice hushed with respect. "We have apprehended the interlopers."

"Take pride, Botor," replied a female voice. It was youthful and calm, and Sonic relaxed upon hearing it. Whoever the leader of the Erina Clan was, she wasn't a brute. "Please, bring our guests forward," she continued. "I wish to address them." The Erina guard leader – Botor, apparently – turned and beckoned them forward. They complied, walking on toward the throne side-by-side. Sonic's eyes widened just a little as they focused upon the seated figure. Beside him, Tails gasped. "She's beautiful…" he said, his voice an awed whisper.

Sonic wasn't one to notice such things, but it was hard to disagree. She was indeed young, no older than fifteen years old, with chestnut-brown fur and delicately curling spines decorated with rainbow-coloured beads. She wore no crown, but rather an elaborate head-dress lavished with gems that flickered and shone like candle flames. A white dress hugged her slender frame, embellished with the same bright patterns and glyphs as her throne. Her hands wore white gloves; her feet were bare. Emerald green eyes, tipped with slender eyelashes, fixed upon each of the so-called interlopers in turn. A gentle smile seemed to welcome, rather than judge.

"Welcome to the last vestige of the Order of the Erinaceomorpha," she said grandly. Despite her youth, she held a powerful charm in her gaze and her voice that left no doubt about her ability as a leader and ruler. "I am Empress Kefa Whitechest of the family Concolor." She beamed at them, and for a moment they glimpsed through the grandeur and saw just a girl. "But please, just call me Kefa."

She scrutinised Sonic for a moment. "You are one of our species?" she said curiously. She looked him up and down. "Blue fur… most exotic. I'm afraid I do not recognise your genus." Sonic shrugged and gave her a grin. "I'm Sonic," he told her. "Sonic the Hedgehog. Nothing more, nothing less." Kefa nodded once. "Very well, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Please," said Sonic. "Just call me Sonic."

She smiled and held his gaze a moment longer before turning her attention towards Tails. "And who might you be?" she asked. Tails' white muzzle flushed pink and he stared down at his shoes. Behind his back, his twin tails spun nervously. "I-I'm Miles Prower," he stammered, "but everybody c-calls me Tails." He risked a shy look at her and she smiled back at him. "I can see why," she said, noting his double helping of twirling tails. "Then Tails it shall be. What a peculiar party you are." She spoke these words as an expression of wonder, rather than of disapproval.

She focused next on Knuckles. He closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly as he spoke. His commanding voice seemed to echo across the wide walls of the cavern. "I am Knuckles the Echidna, sole survivor of the great echidnas of Angel Island and Guardian of the Master Emerald." He opened his eyes and locked his gaze with hers. "It is an honour to meet you, Empress."

"It is likewise an honour to meet you, Knuckles the Echidna," she replied. Finally, she came to look at Eggman. Double in height to the other inhabitants of the cavern, he stuck out like a sore thumb. To Sonic's surprise, he gave a low bow and smiled at the young hedgehog upon the throne. "My dear Empress," he began, the usual concoction of spite and superiority conspicuously absent from his voice. "It is indeed a pleasure. I am Dr. Eggman, at your service."

Sonic rolled his eyes. Trust Eggman to try and talk his way out of trouble! He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it, out of respect for the Empress more than anything else. She was studying the doctor with great interest. "Most fascinating," she murmured. "If you'll forgive me for saying so."

She sat straighter in her throne and observed the foursome for a moment. "Now then," she said. "I believe we should establish the reasons for your arrival here." Her face assumed a somewhat more serious expression. "Please understand that we, the Erina Clan, are a secretive people. We remain here long after our time was thought to have ended and exist in peace with the blessing of Ignius. We do not wish for more, nor do we take it needlessly."

She gestured to the spear-toting guards that lined the walls of the great cavern and stood alert behind the four visitors. "It is our belief that weapons are to be used only in defence of ourselves and our culture, never for offence. Unfortunately, it seems defence has become necessary. Shortly before the last cycle, a dreadful machine attempted to invade our outer perimeter."

Her eyes sought out the leader of the guards before she continued. "It was subdued by Botor and his brave lancers, but continued disturbance could yet be heard. Following the path created by the machine, further destruction was to be witnessed. A most distressing chorus of fire, smoke and screams. The four of you fled from this scene and began your descent towards us, at which point you were apprehended." She looked at each of them in turn. "I do not wish to assign blame or to judge your actions as invasive when they may have been in earnest, but I'm afraid I must ask why you have come here, and what you hope to achieve by doing so."

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles exchanged glances, but before they could say anything, Eggman's voice was heard from the end of the line. "My sincerest apologies," he began humbly, "but I'm afraid those machines belonged to me. I am a scientist of great intellect and importance," – Sonic restrained his tongue – "and I was excavating the tunnel for the purposes of research into geologic formations. I did not know of your existence, nor do I wish harm upon you or indeed any living creature." Sonic pressed his lips together tightly. "I apologise for any distress my actions may have caused," Eggman continued, "but I had no negative intentions. I will, of course, cease my excavation immediately and undo any damage I have done."

Kefa seemed relieved by this. "If that is the case, then you will be released immediately. There should be no punishment for the desire for knowledge." She turned her head to look at the heroes. "And what are your parts in this?" she asked them. "Were you assisting him in his research?"

Sonic and Tails exchanged a thoughtful glance. What to say? If they corroborated Eggman's story, they'd all be set free… but what had the old man done to deserve a favour like that? Only an hour ago he'd been trying to destroy them! Perhaps a little punishment was just what he needed to set him straight. On the other hand, those spears looked sharp and the guards looked fully prepared to use them. He didn't want to place Eggman in any real danger. Crazy or not, he didn't deserve that, and besides, without his bizarre schemes to rule the world their lives would be a lot less interesting! What to do, what to do?

It didn't matter either way, as Knuckles was the one who broke the silence. "The heck we were assisting him!" he yelled, his tone coarse with anger and his fists tightly clenched. "He knew exactly where he was going! He's always planning to invade and conquer somewhere. He's snatched my home from right beneath my nose on more than one occasion! This time he tried to invade _your _home. He just didn't realise you were still here to defend it!"

Kefa's eyes widened with alarm as she listened to this. She looked down to Sonic and Tails, her face grave. "Is this true?" she asked them. Tails stared at the ground and nodded, unable to meet her eye. Sonic spoke up. "It's true," he admitted. "When we discovered what Eggman was planning to do, we came to stop him. We destroyed another of his machines and chased after him, before being… surprised by your guards." Kefa turned her intense gaze towards Eggman. He looked away and she sighed softly. "Then it is true," she said sadly. "But I'm afraid I still do not understand. For what purpose was he trying to invade? What did he hope to obtain?"

"The Tectonic Engine," came Tails' voice. A gasp issued from the mouth of every guard and echoed around the cavern before a deep silence filled it like a vacuum. Those three words seemed to stop time itself. Nobody moved. Nobody blinked. Nobody breathed. Moments passed. A distant observer would have seen nothing more than a room of statues taking their final muted breath before time itself came to an end.

Kefa's words cut through the silence like a scythe. "It is as the Prophecy predicted," she said, her voice hollow. "That an invader would seek to overthrow Ignius and claim the Sacred Machine, the Tectonic Engine, for their own dark desires. My body and my spirit cry out in protest but there is only one thing that can be done, for the ensured survival of the Erina Clan." She shook her head sadly and closed her eyes. When they opened again, they were fixed firmly on the rotund scientist. "The one known as Dr. Eggman must die."

Before he could even think, Sonic heard his own voice shout out in protest. "Wait!" he cried. "You can't do that! Eggman's done a lot of bad things, but he's also done good when it really mattered, and no matter what, he doesn't deserve to die! Nobody deserves that!" He looked across at Eggman. The old man looked back. His expression was blank. Torchlight bounced off the dark lenses of his glasses. He said nothing.

"I am sorry," said Kefa, and Sonic knew from her voice that she was sincere. "I'm afraid his plan would not have succeeded no matter what happened. Only one of us can activate the Sacred Machine, which has lain dormant for centuries. His quest was in vain." The slight parting of his lips was the only betrayal of Eggman's surprise and disappointment. "But as I said before," Kefa was saying, "we must act to defend ourselves and our Prophecy is clear. He must be offered to Ignius to ensure our survival."

Knuckles asked the obvious question. "Who or what is Ignius?" Kefa replied with reverence. "She is our guardian, our protector. She guards the Sacred Machine and keeps us safe." Sonic spoke up indignantly. "And she kills too, right? Doesn't sound like anybody I'd want protecting me." Kefa's eyes met his and he saw sorrow behind a mask of tears. "I am truly sorry," she whispered, looking down at Eggman. "But there is no other way. Our traditions are all we have and our prophecies have never once betrayed us. The matter is closed."

She located Botor. "Take Dr. Eggman to the holding area. He will be…" Her voice wavered and she steeled herself. "He will be judged by Ignius following Her next cycle." Botor gave a brief nod and led several guards over to the condemned Eggman. Kefa turned to the three dismayed heroes. "I am afraid you three must also remain here until Dr. Eggman has been judged. Following that, you will be free to leave, provided you bear no hostility towards the Erina Clan."

"Sounds fair to me," muttered Sonic. He didn't protest as the guards surrounded them. "Larune," said Kefa, addressing one of the soldiers. "Please show them to the guest room." The guards began to move, directing them towards a small tunnel that led away from the cavern. Sonic kept his eyes locked with Kefa's until she finally looked away.

The tunnel was cramped and the "guests" again walked in single file, led and followed by guards. Nobody noticed as Eggman slipped a hand into his uniform pocket and closed his fist around a small egg-shaped device… just as he stumbled slightly on a cleft in the rocky ground. Only Tails, the next in line, saw the small metallic object slip from Eggman's grasp, hit the ground and bounce towards him. Without thinking he caught it and hid it away without missing a step.

They eventually came to a fork in the tunnel. Eggman was led away to the right, while the others were taken to the left, finally arriving at their "guest room". They were ushered inside and the door was securely locked behind them. "Well," said Sonic, examining the room. "At least it doesn't look like a cell." It was true. The room was lavishly furnished, with soft carpets underfoot, comfortable chairs for relaxation and beds to sleep in. A table made of varnished wood held various fruit and drinks. Lanterns on the walls illuminated the room, creating deep, cosy shadows in the corners.

"And at least everything isn't made out of rock," commented Knuckles. He sat down on one of the chairs. Tails took the one next to him. Sonic decided to pace up and down the short length of the room instead. "Okay," he said, "what's the plan?" Knuckles sighed. "I suppose we have to rescue Eggman," he admitted. "He may be a liar and a troublemaker but he doesn't deserve this." Sonic nodded in agreement. "Y'know, we could have just agreed with Eggman's story," he pointed out. "We could have avoided all this if you hadn't jumped in first."

"Hey!" Knuckles hissed. "I was just telling the truth! I didn't think they'd offer him to… whatever that Ignius thing is!" Sonic shrugged. "That's the problem with you, Knuckles. You never think ahead." Knuckles stood up and waved a fist in his direction. "That's rich coming from you, Mr. Leap-Before-I-Look!"

"Guys!" came Tails' voice from behind them. "Fighting isn't going to solve this. Besides, I've got something that might help us." He produced the silver egg-shaped device. Sonic and Knuckles sat down on either side of him, their curiosity piqued and their argument immediately forgotten. "Eggman dropped it while they were leading us down the tunnel just now," Tails explained. "I guess he was going to use it to escape. If we can work out what it is, it might help us rescue him."

"So what is it?" asked Knuckles, examining the little oval machine. It had no obvious function. "I'm not sure," muttered Tails, peering at it closely. "But maybe if I…" He located a small button on its surface and pushed it. As he did, the top of the "egg" opened up and light spilled from within. It floated in the air like a multicoloured cloud before quickly beginning to take shape.

The heroes watched, intrigued, as indistinct lines sharpened and a square formed. The cloud of light danced within its confines for a moment before reforming into more, smaller shapes. Squares and rectangles of various sizes connected together and coloured dots winked within them. It vaguely resembled a retro videogame. "It's beautiful," remarked Knuckles. "It is pretty cool," agreed Sonic.

"It's a map," Tails realised. He pointed to a particularly large yellow square. "See? That's the throne room we were just in." His finger traced the bright white dots that lined its perimeter. "Those are the guards, and that" – he pointed to a single white dot in the centre – "is the Empress." He followed a thin rectangle that extended away from the large square. "If we follow this tunnel…" The rectangle split into two. Tails followed the left path, finally arriving at a small square. "That's the room we're in." Three blue dots were huddled together inside the square. "And that's us."

"Huh," said Sonic. He stood up and took a few steps backwards into the room, keeping his eyes fixed on the floating map. Sure enough, one of the dots drifted away from the other two. He walked back over to the chair. The dot mimicked his movement. Tails nodded thoughtfully. "My best guess is that it's a portable radar device that translates the topographical data into a real-time, two-dimensional holographic image."

"My thoughts exactly," said Knuckles, as if this were the most obvious statement in the world. He hesitated for a moment. "So remind me, how does this help us again?" Tails looked closely at the device, discerning not just one, but a row of small buttons on its smooth surface. He tapped one of the buttons and the image magnified, showing a more detailed view of the throne room. The steps that led up to the throne were displayed in gradually darkening shades of colour, and even the throne itself was there, a tiny golden box with an even tinier white dot atop it.

Tails pressed more buttons and the image scrolled upwards to show their room. A thin rectangle connected their square to another. Inside this second square was a single blue dot. "That's gotta be Eggman," said Sonic, pointing to it. "But what's this line connecting his room to ours?" As one, they lifted their heads and looked up. They all spotted the small grating in the middle of the ceiling at the same time. "Air conditioning!" they chorused. Knuckles stood and hopped into the air, plucking the grating loose from the vent without the slightest effort. Sonic glanced at the tiny opening and then looked back at Tails. "Looks like this is a job for you, little guy."

Tails sized up the opening and nodded confidently. "I think I can squeeze through there," he said, "and I should be able to crawl through to Eggman's room. But what am I going to do once I get there? I can't bring him back with me." Sonic considered this for a moment. "Ask him if he's got any ideas," he replied. "At least we'll be able to come up with a plan."

Tails nodded, his gaze unmoving from the vent opening. "Well, here goes nothing," he said. His twin tails twirled rapidly and he angled them downwards, propelling himself into the air. He reached the vent and squeezed inside. It was tight and uncomfortable – not to mention dark – but he put his fears aside and began to crawl. Eggman was counting on him. More than that, Sonic was counting on him. He wouldn't let them down.

Thankfully, it was a short crawl to the next room. From what Tails could see from above, it wasn't quite as comfortable as their own. Eggman was sat upon the single bench, the top of his bald head tilted forwards in a posture of resignation. Tails couldn't help but feel sorry for him. The vent leading into the room was even smaller than the one in their own, too narrow for even the tiny fox to squeeze through, but it couldn't impede his voice. "Eggman!" he called, his voice a loud whisper for fear of attracting the guards and blowing the escape plan before it was even formed. "_Eggman_!"

The portly professor looked up and his brow creased with confusion. "Tails?" he asked, puzzled. "What on earth are you doing in the ceiling?" Tails raised his voice slightly. "We're going to rescue you!" Eggman's voice was torn between relief and disbelief. "Rescue me? But why would-"

"There's no time for that," Tails interrupted. "We have to get you out of there before the next cycle! Um, whenever that is. How strong is the door?" Eggman looked across the room, presumably at the door, before returning his attention upwards again. "Actually, the door is no problem," he said. "It's sturdy, but primitive. A man of my intellect could easily escape." Tails frowned, confused. "So why don't you?" he asked. "The guards," replied Eggman. "There are guards posted out there. I couldn't hope to outrun them, and I have no weapons with which to fight."

"So what should we do?" asked Tails. Eggman thought for a moment. "Distract them," he answered. "Cause some kind of distraction and divert their attention for a while. Give me time to escape. I know the layout of this place fairly well. I had an Eggmap with me but…" He patted the pockets of his uniform. "I seem to have misplaced it."

"You dropped it on the way here," Tails told him. "I picked it up. That's how we found this vent." Eggman nodded. "That makes things slightly easier. Now, if you consult the Eggmap you'll see a tunnel to the east of here that appears to lead to a dead end. There's a hidden panel in the floor that gives access to a secret room. I'll escape to there and you three can join me when you've lost the guards. We should be able to seal the entrance and stay hidden for a while, until we work out how to escape this place for good."

"Okay," said Tails. He began the uncomfortable process of turning himself around to head back to the guest room. "Oh, Tails," came Eggman's voice from below. "Don't tell them I said this, but…" He sighed deeply. "Thank-you. I won't forget this." Tails couldn't think of anything to say to that. "Just get ready to escape," he said finally, and began the crawl back to the guest room. He squeezed out of the vent and dropped the short distance to the floor, glad to be free of the constricting space. As he stretched his arms, legs and tails, he explained the plan to Sonic and Knuckles.

"Well then," Sonic said when he'd finished. "That just leaves us with one question: how do we get the guards' attention?" They each sat down in a chair and began to think. Knuckles caught sight of a lantern on the wall and raised his fist triumphantly. "I got it!" he boasted. "We smash one of those lanterns and start a fire in here! That'll get the guards running!" Sonic considered this. "Knuckles," he said sincerely, "that has to be the dumbest idea you've ever had. Starting a fire in a locked room? I mean…" He shook his head slowly. "Wow." Knuckles scowled angrily. "I don't see youcoming up with any ideas, smart guy!"

"Okay, how's about this?" Sonic offered. "We just do things the easy way. We bust down the door and run the other way. They'll all be so busy chasing us they won't have time to think about Eggman." Knuckles scoffed and waved a fist through the air as if physically warding off the idea. "We escape! Great plan," he said, voice heavy with sarcasm. "So how do we get back in and meet up with Eggman without being spotted, huh?" Sonic shrugged dismissively. "We'll work that out later." Knuckles snorted. "Hah! And you say I'm the one that never thinks ahead!"

Tails idly watched the pair argue back and forth. He was used to it by now. He focused his mind on the task at hand. How could they distract the guards away from Eggman's cell and still meet up with him afterwards? There had to be a way. Sonic and Knuckles were standing nose to nose now, Knuckles glowering with rage and Sonic wearing an amused smirk on his face. Just like them to argue instead of thinking up a plan. They were good friends but all they seemed to do was fight…

A smile slowly crossed Tails' fuzzy mouth.

"I've got it!" he cried, standing bolt upright. Sonic and Knuckles stopped their argument in mid-insult and turned to face him. "You what?" they asked in unison. Tails beamed at them. "I've got the perfect plan to distract the guards! You know how I said earlier that fighting wasn't going to solve this? Maybe I was wrong!"

"Slow down!" said Sonic, probably the first time he'd ever said those two words in that particular order. Reining in his excitement, Tails explained his plan to them. After he'd finished, all three of them wore a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

"This is all your fault! You're the one who walked into their trap!"  
"No way! Besides, according to you, Mr. Know-It-All, the Erina Clan were extinct!"

"It's widely believed they ARE extinct!"  
"Well, THEY obviously didn't get the memo!"

"Come on, guys! This isn't helping!"  
"You stay out of this!"

They'd been going on and on like this for somewhere between ten minutes and three weeks – probably closer to the former, although it felt more like the latter - and Larune was beginning to tire of it. He glanced across at Chamine, who stood on the other side of the doorway. Her eyes met his and rolled with exasperation. They'd been placed on guard duty outside the guest room, just in case there was any trouble, but so far all the "guests" had done was argue. _That_ was the trouble: their constant yelling was giving Larune a headache.

The blue hedgehog and the red echidna seemed to despise one another. They were bickering over which was to blame for getting them into this mess, while the orange fox tried to calm them down with little success. Every now and then the torrent would stop and there would be nothing but glorious, golden silence. It would last just long enough for Larune to breathe a sigh of relief before they started over again right from the beginning.

"This is going to go on forever," he muttered miserably. Chamine didn't say a word, but the twitching of her left eye was all the reply he needed. She was renowned among the guards for her short temper and it looked like she was about to lose it in a big way. Now the hedgehog and echidna were doing hysterical, screeching impersonations of each other. Thirty seconds passed before Chamine span around and slammed her fist against the door with a loud _thunk_. "Shut up in there, will ya?!" she yelled, her voice rivalling even the echidna's for sheer stopping power. She span back to her original position, hands clenched into fists and her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to steady her breathing.

There was a momentary silence from inside the room. Exactly one moment of silence. Then it started again, only this time, their taunts and accusations were punctuated by the unmistakable sound of breaking ceramic. The guards exchanged a wide-eyed glance, their faces a mirror image of disbelief. "They're throwing the food at one another," murmured Chamine. Her eyes were blank, her face expressionless. Larune knew what this meant. She'd become so angry that she'd ceased to be angry at all. She was one step beyond that. Now they'd done it.

"RIGHT!" she yelled, a battle cry if ever Larune had heard one. In one swift motion the door was unlocked and thrown open, just in time for them to witness the echidna throwing a punch at the hedgehog. The hedgehog saw it coming and dodged backwards, and that huge marshmallow-esque fist missed its mark, plunging instead into a nearby wooden table. It splintered right down the middle, depositing food and drink upon the previously spotless carpet.

The hedgehog curled up and launched himself at the echidna like a ballistic missile. The echidna ducked and the hedgehog crashed into one of the beds. It shattered as if it were made out of matchsticks. Before the hedgehog could move, the echidna dived on top of him and the two began to scuffle on the floor amidst the torn sheets and splintered wood.

"Please! You have to stop them!" The young fox charged Larune and Chamine, grabbing hold of their tunics and tugging on them for extra emphasis. "I tried to calm them down!" he wailed miserably, "But they're like wild animals!" He sounded like he was on the verge of tears. Chamine said nothing, her detached gaze fixed like a vice upon the brawlers. Larune smiled down at him. "Don't worry," he said kindly, feeling sorry for the little guy. "We'll put a stop to this right n-"

His statement was cut off as the tangled ball of sheets, wood and enraged spiny animals collided with them. They became a part of it, as a snowball gathers mass as it travels down a mountain, and now there were five animals flailing and shouting and rolling. Larune couldn't see a thing, couldn't hear anything clearly above the din, and wasn't entirely sure which way was up, so he did the only thing he could: he grabbed a hold of the nearest flailing figure and held on for all he was worth. Whoever it was, they had muscles like steel. They fought against him until he could barely maintain his grip, but finally – mercifully – the struggles subsided.

Larune pinned the defeated fighter against the floor with one hand, and with the other threw the sheet that covered them away. "What the heck are you doing?!" seethed Chamine from beneath him. "You're supposed to be restraining _them_, not me!" Larune stared at her, his jaw opening and closing wordlessly like a mute ventriloquist's dummy. Before he could say anything in his defence, a trio of giggles drifted over from the doorway. The guards looked over to see the three "guests" standing beyond it, exchanging congratulatory high-fives. "You two get comfortable!" called the hedgehog. He swept his gaze over the blanket of destroyed furniture and spilled food. "And maybe clean up a little!"

"You little!" hissed Chamine ambiguously, quickly realising they'd been outsmarted. She tried to untangle herself from both the wreckage and from the still-dumbfounded Larune, but it was hopeless. They seemed to be tied in a knot, and before they were even halfway free the door slammed to a close and the key was heard turning in the lock. She glared furiously at Larune. He still hadn't said a word. "This is all your fault!" she cried. "You're the one who fell into their trap!"

These words seemed vaguely familiar to Larune, but he couldn't quite recall where he'd heard them before.

* * *

Tamel and Gryboc hesitated. They had heard the commotion in the guest room, a crescendo of crashing and shouting that had finally reached a climax before giving way to quiet once more. Too quiet for Tamel. Something was wrong. "We should go and take a look," she insisted again. "Larune and Chamine might need our help." Gryboc wasn't so sure. "Our orders are to guard the prisoner," he replied, but concern for the guest room guards was evident in his voice.

"He isn't going anywhere," said Tamel, giving the thick, sturdy door between them and the condemned three short taps with her knuckles. "He's just an old man. The hedgehog and his friends, on the other hand, could really be trouble if they put their minds to it." Gryboc considered this for a moment, running a hand through his spines, before finally giving a resigned sigh. "Alright," he said, "we'll just go and see if they need a hand. If anybody asks, it was your idea."

They strode quickly down the passageway, side-by-side, taking the turn that led to the guest room and finding the door seemingly unguarded. Tamel fixed Gryboc with a concerned look. The "I told you so" was implied. "Key's still in the lock," Gryboc noted in a whisper as they quietly approached. "What could have happened?" They stopped beside the door and wondered how to proceed. If it was a trap, they were walking right into it. At the same time, they had to find out what was going on. It was quickly decided, through a combination of head movements and hand gestures, that the direct approach would be best. Tamel readied her spear and stood waiting for a possible surprise attack, while Gryboc gave a loud knock at the door and called out, in his most authoritative voice, "What's going on in there?"

"Gryboc!" came a muffled voice from the room beyond. "It's about time!" It was unmistakably Chamine's voice, and she didn't sound happy. "Open the door!" Exchanging a glance with Tamel, Gryboc did as he was instructed. The pair gaped at what they saw beyond: Chamine and Larune sitting side-by-side in a room that looked like the sole recipient of an earthquake. "Don't just stand there!" complained Chamine, extricating herself from the wreckage of a broken table and wiping the remnants of a crushed banana from her tunic. "We have to find them! They've escaped!"

* * *

"It worked!" cried Tails triumphantly as he watched the portable radar device – the Eggmap, Eggman had called it – and saw the two guards leave the Doctor's cell to investigate the source of the racket they'd caused. Sonic grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Still," he said thoughtfully, directing his voice towards Knuckles, "I think your acting needs a little work, Knucklehead." Knuckles opened his mouth to protest but Sonic continued, cutting him off. "I mean, talk about hammy! I thought you were an echidna, not a pig!"

Tails smiled as they lapsed into another heated, but ultimately harmless, argument. They were holed up in the secret room below one of the tunnels. It was a cube measuring little more than ten feet in every direction, barely a "room" at all. There were no lanterns. The holographic map provided their only source of light. The entrance had been exactly where Eggman said it would be. He'd obviously been studying the layout of the place, just in case something went wrong. Tails watched as his signal – a small blue dot – emerged from his cell just moments after the guards left and began to head in their direction.

It was only a short distance to cover, and with no guards to slow his progress even a man of Eggman's sizeable girth didn't take long in arriving. Knuckles was still sulking, having lost the argument, as a square panel in the ceiling slid open and Eggman's round face grinned down at them. Tails wondered if he'd actually fit through the hole and found himself, against his will, imagining a nightmarish scenario involving grease and lots of exertion. Thankfully, even the aptly-named Eggman wasn't quite big enough to get stuck and was soon hidden in the darkness alongside them. The entrance was quickly sealed again.

"So nice to see you all again, my little friends!" Eggman cackled. Tails opened his mouth to reply but clamped a hand over his own muzzle as voices were heard above them. Two voices, one male and one female, standing right on the secret panel above their heads. The four of them held their collective breath and listened.

"-appears that not only did they escape from their own room," – they recognised this voice as Botor, the leader of the Erina guards – "but they also freed the one known as Dr. Eggman." There was a pause before the female voice spoke. "It appears we have been deceived. How distressing." This voice, young and wistful, was recognisable as the voice of the Empress Kefa Whitechest herself. "Perhaps expecting the best of others leads only to disappointment," she continued sadly.

"Larune found this among the debris in the guest room," Botor said. There was a pause as Kefa examined whatever it was he'd given her. "If you turn it over," he explained, "you'll see a map. I believe it shows the location of their home, a place marked as 'Paladin City'." Tails' jaw dropped as he realised what they were referring to. He patted himself down to make sure he was correct. Sure enough, it wasn't there. "The Paladin City Tourist Handbook!" he whispered urgently, in response to the others' questioning glances. "I must have dropped it during the escape!"

"-likely they will flee back to their home and return with greater numbers, now that they know we are not exactly extinct," Kefa was saying. There was an apprehensive waver in her voice as she continued. "I hoped I would never be made to speak these words, but I fear there are no others to be said. Our home, our lives and blessed Ignius Herself are threatened by these… these invaders. There is only one course of action to be taken."

"Empress?" asked Botor.

"As the Prophecy states, we must wake the Sacred Machine from its slumber," replied Kefa. "We must unleash the Tectonic Engine and destroy these invaders and their stronghold before we ourselves are destroyed." There was a long pause. "If this map is correct, it is only a short distance between this place and their Paladin City," she finally continued, "and the Engine has been dormant for many centuries. We should begin immediately."

After that, their voices quickly faded to nothing as they walked away, leaving the four escapees wide-eyed in the darkness. Eggman was the first to speak. "Oh, the irony," he said, rather unhelpfully. Knuckles glared at him. Tails shook his head miserably. "This is all my fault," he whispered. "They're going to destroy Paladin City because I was so clumsy."

Sonic placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It isn't your fault," he reassured him. Knuckles agreed. "It's his fault," he said, jerking a thumb towards Eggman. Sonic disagreed. "Assigning blame isn't going to solve the problem," he told them. "Right now, we need to stop them before they do something crazy." He turned to Eggman. "Doc, you know more about this place and the Tectonic Engine than we do. Got any bright ideas?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," replied the Doctor. Using the Eggmap to illustrate his ideas, he outlined his strategy. Knuckles was to deal with the guards, while Sonic was to travel to the Engine itself and put a stop to the activation. "How do I do that?" asked Sonic. Eggman wasn't sure, but he recalled that the Empress had told them the Engine could only be used by "one of them" – that is, a hedgehog – and so Sonic was naturally their only candidate.

Meanwhile, Tails was to stay hidden with the Eggmap and oversee the operation. Eggman handed each of them a communication device, an earpiece equipped with a tiny microphone that would enable them to remain in contact. "Why do you just happen to be carrying three communicators around?" asked Sonic suspiciously, but Eggman laughed and simply replied "Always be prepared, my friend."

"And what about you?" asked Knuckles, when he had finished describing his plans for the rest of them. Eggman clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, I've done all I can here. I wouldn't want to exceed my usefulness." His voice took on a casual air. "Actually, I thought I'd be making my escape shortly." Sonic considered this. "So basically, you're afraid of what will happen if the guards find you again?"

"Basically," admitted Eggman. Sonic shrugged. "Figures. I guess you have helped us out, though. Just try to stay out of trouble, okay?" Eggman nodded. Knuckles frowned and took a step towards him. "Something isn't right about this," he pondered. "I've been tricked by Eggman once or twice before-"

"I count twelve times," interjected Sonic in his best matter-of-fact tone. "Thirteen, if you count that time he convinced you the black deathberry was a tasty delicacy with a silly name and you ate an entire bunch. I mean, come on! The black deathberry!"

"Okay, fine," muttered Knuckles, grimacing at the memory. "I'm usually the first to fall for Eggman's schemes. I'm starting to develop a sixth sense for them, and I'm getting a bad feeling about this. He's up to something." Eggman raised his eyebrows and held up his hands, looking the very picture of innocence. "Why, Knuckles, I assure you I have no ulterior motives in helping you," he said with the utmost sincerity. "The fact is, a potential doomsday device that I cannot control can only be a threat to me. If these hedgehogs destroy everything, what will be left for me to conquer?" He fiddled with the bristly tip of his moustache. "Besides, you _did_ just save my life. One good turn deserves another, does it not?"

"I trust Eggman about as far as I can throw him," said Sonic, "and that isn't very far. But I think the Doc's telling the truth this time. He gets out of here and we stop Paladin City from crumbling into dust. I don't see any hidden agenda there. What do you think, Tails?"

"I think he's telling the truth too," replied Tails. He smiled at the Doctor. Eggman averted his eyes and pretended not to notice. "He's got nothing to gain by double-crossing us, and like he said, we did just save his life. I think you're just being paranoid this time, Knuckles."

"Fine, fine," Knuckles yielded. "I'll go along with it. But if this is another one of your tricks…" He shook one of his enlarged fists at the scientist. "You'll be a scrambled Eggman. Got it?" Eggman took a cautious step backwards, nodding vigorously. "Of course, of course! You have my word!" He unclasped his hands from behind his back and clapped them together. "Now, shall we get started?" he proposed. "After all, there's no time like the present!"

* * *

The network of tunnels that comprised the Erina Clan's territory thundered with activity. Word had spread quickly that the guests had escaped and freed the prisoner, and it was said that the Empress herself was authorising the use of the Sacred Machine in order to prevent a full-scale invasion. The guards moved with a sense of purpose they had never known before, and while the prospect of invasion from the outside was worrisome, there wasn't a single one of them that didn't ever-so-slightly relish the exhilarating tang of urgency in the air.

Invasion or not, it was believed the escapees were still hiding somewhere inside their territory. The tunnel to the surface the invaders had carved could only be reached through the throne room, and it was an impossibility that four such peculiar characters could have crept through there unnoticed. As such, the guards had been ordered to search every inch of the tunnels and rooms until they were found.

Following their embarrassment at the hands of the invaders, Larune and particularly Chamine were desperate for revenge. Their failure would forever stain their uniforms unless they could absolve themselves by rectifying the situation. Nobody would ever mention it out loud, of course, but it would always be there, hanging in the air above their heads, an invisible Sword of Damocles that would never fall.

Spears pointed forwards, feet marching in time, the pair rounded a corner and almost collided with the red echidna. Surprised at finding him so easily, it was a prolonged moment before they reacted. "You!" exclaimed Larune; perhaps not the most authoritative thing to say, but it summed up his surprise in a most concise manner. The echidna grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you found me," he said idly, like a child in the midst of a game of hide and seek. He looked down at the sharp spearheads, both pointed at his belly. "I guess I should warn the others." Without another word, he turned and sprinted away down the tunnel.

Chamine's eyebrows descended into a determined frown. "Not this time!" she muttered, and took off after him. Larune looked back over his shoulder to where another pair of guards were patrolling the tunnel beyond. "We've found the echidna!" he called to them. "He's trying to warn the others! Get everybody down here, now!" Without waiting for a response, he darted after Chamine's rapidly diminishing form.

The echidna led them a good way, twisting this way and that through the tunnels. Several times they came close to losing him, but just as he disappeared out of sight he'd pause for a moment, examining the tunnels ahead as if trying to remember the correct route, before hurtling away again just in time to avoid capture. Behind Larune, more and more guards joined the chase until the entire regiment was stampeding through the tunnels. They became a writhing centipede, dozens of pairs of feet pounding the ground in unison as they followed the path set by the echidna. Larune and Chamine were the venomous fangs, their spears raised to subdue their prey when the chase came to its inevitable end.

It wasn't long before it did. Another left turn, another right, and then the tunnel opened out into a large room. It was a space used for storage, with rows of tall shelves packed with tools, materials and supplies. Unused furniture and lengths of rolled-up carpet were stacked against the walls. One by one the guards piled in. Chamine turned to them, mouth upturned in a triumphant smirk. "There are no other exits in this room," she told them. "He's hiding in here somewhere. Perhaps the others are too. Find them!"

They began to tear the room to pieces, searching every square inch of space for the escapees. Everywhere but the ceiling. Nobody noticed as Knuckles carefully clambered across the room above their heads, digging his spiked fists into the rock to keep from falling. He reached the entrance and dropped to the ground, landing only a foot behind the nearest guard, who had his spear held forwards and his eyes trained on the room to make absolutely certain that nobody escaped.

Silently, silently, Knuckles crept back along the corridor. He stopped halfway and turned back towards the room. The guards were still busily searching for him and his friends. Perfect. He closed his eyes and focused, channelling all his strength into his right fist, and then sprang upwards with an uppercut so fierce it tore through the air and caused his glove to burst momentarily into flame. The punch struck the tunnel ceiling with the impact of a missile, puncturing the thick rock as if it were little thicker than paper.

The guard at the mouth of the room heard the sound and turned. His jaw dropped in disbelief. It was several seconds before he was able to report his discovery to anybody else. Above Knuckles' head, a detailed map of cracks spread out from the point of impact. The last thing he saw was dozens of pairs of eyes aimed in his direction, the brows above them a 50/50 split between surprise and rage, before the ceiling collapsed and the passageway was securely blocked with heavy chunks of rock.

Knuckles dusted his hands together victoriously before touching a thumb to his earpiece. "Tails, you hear me?" he asked. There was a brief pause before he heard Tails' voice in his ear, slightly muffled by static but otherwise clear as day. "_I read you._" The echidna looked back over his shoulder and smirked. "The plan worked. The guards aren't going anywhere soon."

"_Roger that, Red Two,_" Tails replied. Knuckles rolled his eyes. The little fox was relishing the opportunity to play mission commander. "_Stay where you are. When Sonic – uh, I mean Blue One – takes care of the Engine, you'll have to clear the passage and let them out._" Knuckles replied "Got it," and flicked his earpiece again, ending the communication. He placed his hands behind his head and leaned back against the rock wall. "Guess it's all up to Sonic now," he mused to himself. "So no change there, then."

* * *

"_The coast is clear, Blue One,_" came Tails' voice through the earpiece. Sonic grinned. "Roger that, Orange Leader," he replied, more than happy to play along. "I'm on my way." He hopped down from his vantage point, a small ledge above one of the tunnels, and sped towards his destination. According to the Eggmap, the path to the Tectonic Engine was a dangerous one that had not been walked for centuries. It was a steep tunnel that descended deep into the Earth, much of it collapsed or flooded with lava, or rigged with ancient death traps. Sonic grinned again at the thought of it. It sounded _awesome_.

The entrance was found in the throne room, directly behind the Empress' throne itself. Sonic had been half-expecting to find her there, but she was nowhere to be seen and he wasn't going to complain. The entrance was sealed, of course, but they'd come prepared. "Ignius, Guardian of the Sacred Machine," he said to the door, remembering the words Botor had used to open the entrance to the throne room. "I beg of you: grant me passage." Sure enough, the wall split open with a deep rumble to reveal an entrance. "_What's your status, Blue One?_" came Tails' voice over his earpiece. "I'm ready to roll, Orange Leader," Sonic replied. He took a step through the doorway and examined the treacherous tunnel beyond. It was unlit save for a faint orange glow that probably came from the lava up ahead. "Now let's do it!"

He shot away like a blue bullet. The ground was cracked and broken and Sonic found himself veering from side to side to avoid fissures that led to murky, empty blackness. The floor quickly became steeper and soon Sonic couldn't have slowed down even if he'd wanted to. That fact was of little concern to him. He hopped a gaping chasm in a single bound and skidded to the left as his feet found the ground again to dodge a large spike of rock that jutted unceremoniously from the uneven ground.

Another challenge lay beyond: fifty feet away the ground gave way to a boiling, hissing pool of molten lava. Leaping over it would prove difficult, as the ceiling above was low and bristled with sharp, rocky spikes. Sonic looked to the right. Unlike the ceiling, the wall beside the lava pool was mostly flat and unbroken…

Without hesitation, Sonic angled himself to the right and followed the curve that joined the floor to the wall until he was running sideways along it. To his left – technically, below him – lava bubbled and popped threateningly. Sonic increased his speed further, openly mocking the forces of gravity until the lava was nothing more than a distant memory receding behind him at a hundred miles an hour. He angled himself back towards the ground and blasted onward.

"_Sonic, do you read me?_" came Tails' voice over the earpiece. He sounded concerned. Sonic noted he hadn't used his "codename" either. "I'm here," he replied, his calm voice belying the fact he'd just narrowly avoided a crop of lethal spikes and a pit that just possibly might have been bottomless. "_It's the Tectonic Engine,_" reported Tails. "_I've been watching it on the Eggmap and it just gave off a huge energy emission. I think they've activated it!_"

"Don't worry," Sonic reassured him. "I'm getting there." He exerted himself further, pushing himself to his maximum speed. His legs were a blurred cyclone beneath him. The time for taking it easy was over. Pits and spikes and lava flashed by momentarily before being forgotten. Tails may have been the genius of the group, but Sonic's own mind, as sharp and agile as his body, calculated angles, momentum and trajectory in a seamless, unconscious process that most would refer to as "instinct".

Ahead, he noted that the walls were dotted with white squares, each with a black hole at their centre. He smiled gratefully. He'd almost given up on those death traps he'd been promised! As he passed the first square, an arrow with a side-splitting head burst forth and hurtled his way, followed by dozens more from every direction. Without breaking stride, Sonic ducked and hopped and leaned his way through the maze of feathered, fatal steel until he was clear.

He had to hand it to the designer, though, because the next trap almost – almost – caught him by surprise. Immediately after the arrows, Sonic felt a thin cord snap against his knees and looked up to see dozens of lumps of rock falling towards him like rusted hailstones. Avoiding them at this speed would be tricky, so Sonic did the only thing he could: he curled into a ball and span onwards. Rocks rained down on him, but they shattered into fragments upon impact like vegetables dropped into a grinder, leaving him quite unscathed.

A rock wall, delicately illustrated with thin cracks, failed to stop him too. Sonic carved through it like a buzzsaw blade… emerging only meters from the welcoming mouth of another lava pit. It was too late to head for the walls, but Sonic saw another option. He hit a ramp that extended nervously over the fiery doom below and blazed into the air. He unfurled and looked up to see a long, thin rock sticking horizontally out of the wall, just wide enough for him to fit his hands around. He grabbed hold of it and span around and around like a circus acrobat, gathering speed with each revolution before releasing his grip.

"Ya-hoo!" he cried joyfully as he soared through the air, sailing higher and higher above the deadly lava. Poor, neglected gravity tugged feebly at his airborne frame but he ignored it as usual. Below, the lava pit came to an end just as Sonic began his descent back towards the ground. He touched down and moved on, eagerly anticipating the next challenge.

It came in the form of a dark, yawning pit, an entrance to nothingness. A bridge of sorts extended across it, but its dimensions would have rendered it impassable to most. Most, but not all. The "bridge" was actually a narrow strip of rock that spiralled around like the helix of a corkscrew, and for Sonic the Hedgehog it was anything but impassable. He hit it at full speed and whirled around and around as he followed it, aware but unafraid of the endless fall that was alternately beneath his feet and above his head. The corkscrew path led back to firm, unbroken ground and Sonic rushed ever onward, Tails' message about the Engine's activation bearing down on him like a rival racer.

The end was in sight, but one more obstacle lay before him. More accurately, it lay behind him. As he hurtled down the steep passageway at a breakneck pace, he triggered another ancient Erina trap. A distant rumbling quickly grew louder as a massive boulder, smoothed and buffed into a perfect ball, was loosed from some hidden compartment and bore down on him. Sonic risked a glance over his shoulder and grinned. The experience just wouldn't be complete without a huge boulder to outrun!

He focused back on the route ahead. Spikes and fissures threatened his progress but he dodged them with little effort. The boulder steamrolled through such impediments, an unstoppable object pushed by an irresistible force. It gathered momentum as it went, closing the distance between Sonic and itself until it was almost at his heels. Sonic could feel it trying to suck him inside like a black hole. He resisted, thundering onwards, arms pumping at his sides like pistons. The solution was just up ahead: another impossibly deep chasm, just wide enough to accommodate Ol' Rocky.

With the boulder breathing down his neck, Sonic reached the lip of the chasm and directed every ounce of energy in his body into his legs, leaping into the air as if he had springs on his heels. The boulder passed directly beneath him – Sonic felt the rush of air against his belly – and hit the far wall of the chasm, bouncing off it like a pinball and disappearing into the darkness forever. Sonic looked ahead. The far side of the chasm was approaching fast… but perhaps not fast enough. His jump hadn't given him quite enough leverage to clear the gap. Below, oblivion pulled at him, trying to drag him down. There was only one thing he could do: stretch out his arms until his shoulders ached and hope for the best. The chasm was only a dozen feet away now and drawing closer by the second. Six feet… three feet…

Sonic's fingertips found their mark against the far lip of the chasm. He hung there for a moment, suspended between relative safety and certain death, before pulling himself up. He dusted himself down and looked back over his shoulder at the pit that had very nearly become his final resting place. "Close call!" he said to himself, a cheery smile on his face. Returning his attention to the way ahead, it seemed he'd come to the end of his journey.

The tunnel opened out into a cavern so large it dwarfed even the scale of the Erina throne room. A rocky walkway followed the uneven perimeter of the room while lava churned below. In the center of the cavern stood an island of rock extending up from the molten carpet. There was no bridge connecting it with the perimeter that Sonic could see. Perched upon this platform was a huge spherical machine that could only be one thing: the Tectonic Engine. It was a reddish brown in colour and given life by undulating cogs and gears that spread along the walls like climbing ivy. A low, deep hum came from within it, throbbing like a heartbeat and echoing off the distant walls, a sound that Sonic didn't so much hear as feel. There was no sign of the Erina guards that had activated it.

"Tails?" Sonic said, pressing a finger to his earpiece. "I've reached the Engine." He waited a moment, but no reply came. He prodded his earpiece impatiently. "Tails!" he said again. "Can you hear me?"

Silence.

* * *

It was a little unsettling, down there in the dark.

Tails wasn't afraid, exactly. Sonic wasn't afraid of anything, and neither was he. Still, sat alone in the dark alcove, the bright primary colours of the Eggmap generating long shadows across the narrow walls, it _was_ a little unsettling. He did his best to put his nervousness out of mind and concentrate on what he was doing. Knuckles had pulled off his part of the plan flawlessly, and Eggman had left shortly afterwards, taking advantage of the lack of security to make good on his escape plan. Now it was all up to Sonic.

Tails knew from experience that worrying about Sonic was silly. He always came through in the end, no matter what the odds. It was just a matter of waiting, and it was the waiting that was the hard part. His tails flickered erratically behind his back and he rubbed his earpiece, wondering if he should perhaps check how Sonic was doing. It never hurt to check.

"Room for one more?"

Tails' head jerked in the direction of the voice almost before he'd heard it. Deep in thought as he'd been, he hadn't heard the gentle scrape of rock, or noticed the sliver of light that appeared on the floor beside him as the hidden entrance was uncovered. The young face of Empress Kefa looked down at him in silhouette, her features masked by darkness. "May I come in?" she asked politely. Before Tails could say a word in reply – truth be told, he hadn't breathed since he'd first heard her voice – she'd dropped down into the alcove. She sat down cross-legged beside him and smiled, and waited for him to say something.

"Y-you knew we were down here?" he finally ventured. Kefa shrugged. "It didn't take long for me to figure it out. I used to play hide and seek down here when I was a little girl, you know." She examined the hologram floating above the device in his hands. "In fact, I'm sure I know a few places that even your machine can't find." Tails said nothing and looked back at the map. His eyes followed Sonic's progress down the long tunnel. Kefa did the same. "He won't survive," she said quietly. There was a note of sadness in her voice. "No outsider has ever entered the Chamber of Ignius and left alive."

"I guess you just don't know Sonic," replied Tails defiantly. "He always survives." Kefa nodded and was silent for a few moments, before asking in a voice barely above a whisper, "Why are you doing this?" Tails looked at her. The light from the Eggmap was reflected in her moistened eyes. "Because it's the right thing to do," he told her. "If you destroy Paladin City, thousands of people will get hurt. Sonic won't let that happen. That's why we came here."

"My hand has been forced," insisted Kefa. "I love my people and it is my duty to protect them from harm." Tails shook his head fiercely. "You're making a huge mistake," he replied. "But it doesn't matter. Sonic will make everything right again." Kefa said nothing to this.

"_Tails?_" It was Sonic's voice speaking through his earpiece. He reached up to reply and gasped as Kefa's hand whipped out and snatched it from his ear. "_I've reached the Engine._" She pushed the device into a pocket and stared at Tails, waiting for him to try to grab it back. He didn't. He just gazed back at her with the eyes of a child. "_Tails!_" persisted Sonic from somewhere inside Kefa's dress. "_Can you hear me?_"

"I'm sorry," Kefa said, breaking their eye contact. "But this is as far as your friend can go." She was looking back at the Eggmap. Tails followed her gaze and saw not one, but two life signs there. The first was a small blue dot, standing at the perimeter of the huge Engine chamber. The other occupied the lava beneath it, and while it was also blue, it wasn't exactly small.

Quite the opposite.

"I'm sorry," said Kefa again.


	5. Chapter 5

"Tails? Tails?"

Silence and more silence. Sonic hoped nothing had happened to his friend. Most likely it was just a technical glitch in the earpiece. Eggman's hardware never had been the most reliable. He steered his train of thought back towards his immediate goal: the Tectonic Engine.

There it was, rooted upon an island of rock in the centre of the cavernous chamber, humming with a power that was doubtlessly escalating by the second. It had to be deactivated before it caused the destruction of Paladin City… but how? Sonic couldn't see a bridge connecting the Engine's platform to the rocky walkway he was stood on. He took a few steps forward and glanced over the edge. Magma churned and spat below.

He'd barely begun to consider his options when he heard a deep, throaty rumble and felt the walkway at his feet begin to rattle. He spaced his sneakers apart, steadying himself as the vibrations grew stronger. An earthquake? No, it wasn't. Looking around, Sonic saw that the distant walls of the chamber, and the ceiling, were unaffected by the tremors. It was too small to be an earthquake, which left him with only one conclusion: something was coming. Something big.

The massive creature burst from the lava below with the harsh suddenness of a drowning man breaking the surface of the sea. Up it rose, its giant frame filling Sonic's vision. He craned his neck upwards, following its ascent, until it finally reached its full height. His first impression was that the creature was on fire, but that wasn't true. It wasn't _on _fire, it _was_ fire. Flames of red and orange and blue rolled and roared to form a shape that Sonic finally pinpointed. A large head with pointed ears and a long nose, covered with long, bristling points of flame that bore a strong resemblance to the spines atop his own head. A swelling chest was flanked by long, slender arms. A pair of eyes, their pupils larger than his entire body and burning like shooting stars, fixed upon him.

"So…" said Sonic conversationally. "You must be Ignius."

The enormous, fiery hedgehog opened its mouth and a voice emerged that was partly female and mostly bass. The sound reverberated off the walls until it seemed to come from all around him. "That is correct," it told him in a slow, deliberate boom. "I am Ignius, Guardian of the Sacred Machine. Why am I awoken from my slumber again so soon?"

"I'm sorry," Sonic replied. "I didn't mean to wake you. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog and I need to get to the Tectonic Engine before it's too late." The burning eyes grew closer as Ignius leaned forward and examined him. Beneath purple-tinted fur, his skin prickled with heat. "Yes," she said after a time. "You are indeed a hedgehog, as my children were."

"So, is there a bridge I can use to get to the Engine or something?" Sonic asked hopefully. "Only I'm kind of in a hurry." Ignius nodded slowly, the flames of her neck flexing like muscles. "You are hasty in all that you do," she determined. "You run and you run, but what are you running from? What are you running towards?"

Sonic was steadfast. "We can discuss psychology later, but right now I need to get to the Engine." Ignius seemed to consider this for a moment. "You may be a hedgehog," she said patiently, "but you are not one of my children. Therefore, you must first prove yourself worthy of the Sacred Machine's great power."

"And how do I do that?" asked Sonic. Ignius didn't reply. Instead, she slowly raised one thick, flaming fist high above her head. It hung there for a moment before beginning its descent, a burning meteorite with an inexorable course that ended without question upon Sonic himself.

"Figures," he muttered.

* * *

"Please," Tails pleaded. "Let me help him!"

In the dark alcove hidden among the folds of the Erina Clan's home, he and Empress Kefa had been listening intently to the conversation between Sonic and Ignius. Now it had ended and it sounded like Sonic was under attack. Tails didn't know what was happening, or what Sonic was up against, or what, if anything, he could do to help if he were there, but he knew he couldn't just stand there and listen. He had to do _something _to help.

"I'm sorry," Kefa told him. "We must use the Engine to prevent an invasion from your city. Ignius watches over us and protects us, and she will not allow such a threat to exist." She sighed sombrely. "I'm afraid Sonic will be destroyed." Hot tears stung Tails' eyes. "You're not listening!" he cried. His voice had begun to rise rapidly in pitch. "We aren't invading you and neither is Paladin City! The only threat to you was Dr. Eggman, and he's gone now! Don't you realise you've made a mistake?" Accusatory eyes burrowed into hers. "Do you really think you're doing the right thing?"

"It doesn't matter what I think!" she snapped, jerking her own moist eyes from his as if they'd been burned. "Botor will have activated the Engine by now, and there's no way Sonic can stop it in time. And even if _I_ wanted to stop it, I couldn't." She added quietly, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do."

"You're wrong!" persisted Tails. "Sonic's going to make everything better, and I'm going to help him!" Without another word, he launched himself at the ceiling, whirling his tails and propelling himself through the square opening that led back up to the tunnel. As he emerged, he brushed against the heavy rock panel that had served to hide the alcove. It rocked silently back and forth on the edge of the hole. "Stop!" came Kefa's voice from below, sounding hollow and small amidst the darkness. "You can't get there in time to-"

A sudden _crunch_ silenced her. Tails froze in mid-stride, one foot on the ground, the other held in the air, his tails pointed and stiff. He didn't want to turn around and look down. He didn't want to. But he had no choice. Slowly, apprehensively, he turned back and peered down into the darkness. As his wide eyes adjusted to the gloom, he saw that Kefa's round, bare feet were the only part of her that was visible. Her face, and her body, were hidden beneath a thick, square slab of stone.

She'd been crushed.

* * *

The word "stalemate" sprang to mind as Sonic raced around the perimeter of the chamber like a race car on a lonely oval track. He'd done at least ten laps already, and if there was any advantage he could take over the flaming giant he hadn't found it yet. Her attacks, while powerful, were as deliberate and measured as her voice, and he had little trouble in avoiding them. Survival was one thing, but Sonic was all too aware that as he circled her like a blue planet orbiting a sun, the Tectonic Engine was growing in power. If he couldn't find a way to defeat her and get to the Engine soon he'd have failed, and failure really wasn't his style.

Ignius swept her hand through the air and sent a wave of undulating flame in his direction. Sonic timed his leap perfectly and it missed, scorching the ground beneath him instead. He landed in a roll and came up running. Another successful dodge. Another moment wasted.

Focused entirely on Ignius, he was caught off-guard as a figure sprang from the red-tinged shadows of the wall and tackled him. He and his attacker rolled over and over in a tangle of limbs and spines, finally coming to a stop perilously close to the edge of the walkway. Sonic found his shoulders pinned to the ground in a grip as strong as iron. Lava roiled menacingly behind his head. "Got you!" roared Botor triumphantly. "Fancy meeting you here," Sonic commented. Two more Erina guards melted from the shadows to flank them on either side, their spears pointed downwards to hinder Sonic's escape. "Think you could tell your boss over there" – he angled his nose behind him, to where Ignius' overwhelming presence still resided – "to ease off a little?"

"Release him," commanded Ignius. There was no anger in her voice, just that seemingly infinite patience. "His worth, or lack thereof, must be proven to me by him and him alone. No interference will be tolerated." Sonic felt that iron grip slacken just a little. Enough to take the advantage. He jerked his body to the left and then rolled suddenly to the right. Botor was thrown loose, and in a flash Sonic was upright and twenty feet away. Refusing the assistance of his guards, Botor rose slowly to his feet. He turned his head to look alternatively at Sonic and Ignius, his face torn between reverence and duty. "Ignius, my guardian and protector!" he called to the giant. "This hedgehog is an invader! We must act now to stop him-"

He was interrupted as the ground beneath him shuddered. He lost his balance and stumbled unsteadily towards the walkway's edge. Sonic didn't know whether the tremor was a random act of nature or some measure of "intolerance" by Ignius, but it made no difference to his actions. Anybody else wouldn't have reached him in time, but Sonic did. Just barely. Dropping to the ground and sliding along on his belly, Sonic's hand clasped Botor's a half-second before he plummeted over the edge and disappeared into the unfathomable temperature of the molten depths below. Sonic pulled him backwards and steadied him. The tremor had subsided now and the ground was solid again. Botor stared at his saviour, the shock rendering him mute. Sonic gave him a wink. "Be careful," he said. "This is no place to fool around." He turned to face Botor's guards, who each wore an identical expression of disbelief. "Sorry, guys," he said apologetically. "Didn't mean to do your job for you." Striding away from them, he turned back towards Ignius. "Now, where were we?"

Ignius slowly extended her hand towards him as if to crush him. Sonic warily watched it approach, waiting for the right moment to dodge. To his surprise, it stopped at the ground before his feet, palm flat and facing upwards. "You have proven yourself worthy," she echoed. "I will provide you with passage to the Sacred Machine." Seeing Sonic's confused expression, she explained: "The Machine is capable of causing great destruction and untold tragedy if used by the wrong hands. As such, only one possessing courage and compassion should be given license to use it. You have demonstrated these qualities admirably." She nodded towards her open hand. "Step on."

Sonic examined its flaming surface doubtfully. "I forgot to wear my fireproof sneakers," he informed her. She shook her head slowly from side to side. "Do not worry," she told him. "No harm will come to you if I do not wish it." Sonic shrugged and stepped onto her palm without another moment's hesitation. As she had promised, he didn't burst immediately into flame. He wasn't hot at all, in fact, and her palm was somehow just as solid as the rock he had been standing on. "Ignius! Wait!" cried Botor as she began to turn away. She paused. "Forgive my blasphemy," he continued, "but you are making a grave mistake! Will you not believe your own children over the actions of an invader, no matter how noble he may appear?"

"I would indeed believe the word of my children," answered Ignius without turning to face him. "If they were still alive." Without another word she turned away. Sonic watched as the platform bearing the Tectonic Engine grew nearer. He'd made it in time after all. But hey, had there ever been any doubt?

* * *

With a final heave, the heavy stone slab that covered the Empress was lifted clear. Tails pushed it until it rested against the wall, and, confident that it wasn't going to topple again and crush them both this time, looked down at Kefa. His breath was torn from his lungs at what he saw.

* * *

No sooner had Sonic stepped off of Ignius' hand and onto the Engine's platform that the fiery giant sank silently back into the lava as if she had never been there at all. Sonic wondered if she'd return to provide him with an escape route, but decided to think about that after he'd deactivated the Engine. To that end, he approached the large spherical construction and began to search for a way inside. The rust-coloured machine seemed to be wired into the cavern like a heart in a living organism. An intricate network of pipes joined it with interconnected gears that covered the distant walls. They were silent and motionless, so Sonic guessed the Engine hadn't fully activated yet. Even so, its power, its potential, radiated outwards from it like an aura.

Finally locating a door just large enough for a hedgehog, he climbed inside. The interior was small and rather cramped, the majority of the space presumably taken up by the Engine's inner workings. Sonic saw a panel full of buttons, levers and dials, their functions unclear.

"_Welcome._"

Sonic looked around, slightly startled by the calm, slightly tinny female voice. "_Please position yourself at the console and prepare for examination._" A smile of realisation crossed Sonic's lips as he spotted its source: a speaker mounted in a corner of the ceiling. He followed its instructions and stepped up to the console. "_Examination commencing,_" it said, and a warm red light filled the small space as he was scanned from head to toe. He wondered idly how the Erina Clan had built such an advanced machine. Everything else he had seen of them was primitive by comparison. They used lanterns for light and spears for weapons. Did they even build the Engine at all? Perhaps they had merely discovered it by chance, and its true creators were even more ancient.

"_Examination complete,_" droned the voice. "_Species confirmed. Control panel unlocked._" The mythology could wait for another day, Sonic decided. The computer voice seemed reluctant to offer any further assistance, so he scanned the row of buttons and levers for a viable candidate. His eyes settled on a large red button twice the size of any other. If he were going to design an all-powerful machine such as this, he'd make the biggest, reddest button the ON/OFF switch. He hoped the designers, whoever they were, had thought the same way. "Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself, and pushed it.

"_Tectonic Engine activated,_" came the ever-calm voice of the computer.

* * *

Tails stared dumbly at Kefa's motionless body. Her eyes were closed, her face expressionless, arms and legs bent at unnatural angles. She didn't move, didn't twitch. Didn't breathe. Her white dress was torn in several places and Tails' eyes slowly followed the intricate maze of wires and circuits beneath. Blue sparks flashed along an electronic nerve, the light momentarily reflecting off the polished chrome of her skin where patches of chestnut-brown fur had come loose.

* * *

Sonic frowned. _Activated? _The steady hum the machine had been giving off loudened to an ear-unfriendly whine and harmonised with a shuddering groan as long-dormant gears were brought back to life. The room began to shake wildly and Sonic had to grip the console to stay on his feet. "What's going on?" he called over the rapidly escalating opera of grinding machinery. "It was already active! I _de_activated it!"

He pushed the big red button again. It had no effect this time. The roar of the ancient clockwork was getting louder by the second. Sonic could barely hear himself think. He stumbled back through the doorway and emerged onto the platform. The gears on the walls were rotating now, the Engine itself throbbing with barely suppressed power. There was still no sign of Ignius.

Sonic raised a hand to his ear and flicked his communication device.

* * *

"_Tails!_" It was Sonic's voice, calling to him from somewhere within the… within the whatever it was. "_Tails! Can you hear me?_" His whole body and both tails tensed, Tails reached out and plucked the intact earpiece from Kefa's dress with all the anxious caution of a man reaching into the gaping jaws of a sedated, but still very much alive, beast.

* * *

There was a barely audible hiss of static and Tails finally answered. "_Sonic… are you okay?_" His voice sounded odd, a little distant. He was preoccupied, perhaps. "I'm fine," Sonic told him, "but there's been some kind of mistake with the Engine. You said some kind of energy emission came from it before?"

"_Yep,_" Tails replied shortly. "I don't know what that energy was," Sonic continued, "but the Engine _wasn't_ active. I just accidentally activated it myself and now I don't know how to turn it off. Do you have any ideas?" A pause. "_I don't know. Do you want me to come and take a look?_" He definitely sounded odd. "I think you should," said Sonic. "By the way, are you alright? You sound strange." A sudden quaver was in the fox's voice. "_It's Empress Kefa,_" he said. "_I broke her._" Sonic's eyes narrowed slightly. Had he heard that correctly? "You _broke_ her?" he asked. "What do you mean? She's hurt? Or worse?" Silence. "Tails!"

"_I mean I broke her,_" Tails repeated slowly. "_She's… she's not a hedgehog, Sonic. She's an android._" It took Sonic several moments to process what he had just been told, and even then it made no sense. He shook his head disbelievingly. "You're saying the Empress is a _robot_? That's impossible!"

"_I know,_" replied Tails sadly. "_But it's true. And Sonic, that isn't the worst thing._" Sonic waited for it. "_I recognise the technology. It's more advanced than anything I've ever seen, but it's unmistakable._" Sonic tapped his foot impatiently. "And?" he urged.

"_And I recognise an Eggman robot when I see one._"

A jarring, seismic rumble drowned out any kind of surprised exclamation Sonic could make. Before his eyes, an imposing shape loomed up out of the lava to tower over him. It was shaped like a hedgehog and flame red in colour, but it wasn't Ignius. It was a metallic parody of her. A mech. A grating, all-too-familiar voice boomed from within it, amplified tenfold by hidden loudspeakers.

"_Surprise!_" laughed the gleeful voice of Dr. Eggman. "_Did you miss me? HO HO HO HO!_"


	6. Chapter 6

Emotions spun behind Sonic's eyes like the reels of a fruit machine: surprise; anger; cherry and excitement, until they finally blended into a syrupy, confused cocktail. "Eggman!" he called over to the behemoth, hedgehog-shaped mech. "What are you doing here?!" It seemed like the right thing to say at the time. Eggman's booming laugh burst from the head of the metal monster and echoed around the chamber. "_What do you think?_" he said mockingly, somehow able to hear Sonic's voice through untold layers of armour plating. "_This is a game of chess, and I've just performed checkmate. I've merely come to remove the pieces from the board!_"

"What are you talking about?" Sonic demanded. There was that laugh again, loud and manic and so very smug. "_Very well!_" Eggman announced when his mirth had been restrained again. "_I suppose a trap is only visible from the outside, is it not? In that case, I'll explain it to you!_" Sonic could almost hear the deep breath being taken. "_You see, my dear Sonic, for all of your valour and courage, there is one other quality you possess in abundance._"

"Charisma!" Sonic yelled with the ferventness of a game show contestant. "Wit! Style! Grace! Am I close?" Eggman's mech raised one huge fist and shook it menacingly. "_Silence! I'm referring to your predictability! You see, I heard the legends of the extinct Erina Clan and their Tectonic Engine and journeyed here to make it my own. Imagine my disappointment when I was denied access by Ignius!_"

"You must have been crushed!" Sonic concurred in a tone dripping with sarcasm. "_Quite!_" agreed Eggman, missing the point entirely. "_She told me that only a hedgehog of courage and compassion could activate the long-dormant machine. Of course, I thought of you immediately._" Sonic almost felt himself blush. "I'm touched!" Eggman's mech nodded. "_So I embarked upon my greatest plan yet. I restored the Erina Clan's home and populated it with an army of robots so sophisticated that even _they _don't know they're not the real deal! The dominoes were stacked and all I needed was the right person to knock them down. And that's where you and your predictable nature come in. I knew you'd come to stop me from destroying Paladin City. I knew you'd help me escape when they captured me and I knew you'd come here and try to deactivate the Engine, not realising it was never active in the first place!_"

Sonic clapped his hands together, giving the Doctor a much-deserved round of applause. "I gotta admit, Doc, I'm a little impressed. I certainly didn't see this coming. But I have a couple of questions." With one several-ton hand, the mech wordlessly gestured for him to proceed. "First of all, the Empress gave the order to target Paladin City because they found Tails' map. You can't tell me you planned for that to happen too?" The mech shook its head. Servos whirred and whined. "_I'll admit that was a coincidence, but one that sped things up considerably!_" replied its pilot. "_Next question!_"

"What about the energy emission that Tails saw?" Sonic asked. "We thought it meant the Engine had been activated. Was that your doing too?" The mech practically shook with laughter. "_Of course!_ _In the right context, a little energy pulse can make a _big_ difference!_ _Any more questions?_"

"Okay, sure, here's a question for you: aren't you forgetting something?" Sonic smirked up at the armoured titan. It leaned forward a little, as if intrigued. "_And what's that?_" Sonic gestured to the Engine. Its loud, droning hum had reached an even tone now. He guessed its activation was almost complete. "Sure, you may have tricked me into activating it. But you also need me to aim it, right? And since I'm so predictable, it won't surprise you that I don't plan on destroying Paladin City – or anywhere else – anytime soon."

"_Hah!_" scoffed Eggman. His mech waved a hand dismissively. "_Do you really think I hadn't thought of that? During my examination of the Engine, I discovered that it works by manipulating great quantities of energy towards a specific place. The Engine itself is the heart of this system and activating it myself would have been impossible. That's why I needed you. You were the key that unlocked its systems. However, once the door is opened, anybody can step through… myself included!_"

"You mean…" Sonic trailed off. Eggman finished the thought for him. "_That's right! Now that the Engine is primed, I can quite easily set a target myself! I think I'll begin with Paladin City, just for the sake of it! After that… who knows? This entire world is clay for my hands to mould!_" Sonic shook his head slowly. Green eyes narrowed with determination. "You'll have to get through me first."

"_Oh, I intend to!_" laughed Eggman. "_And that brings me to my next surprise! Since we've reached the end of my little charade, I may as well have my robots return to their default settings! It's a shame to erase such complex artificial intelligence, but I'm sure I'll get over it!_"

Sonic waited.

* * *

Larune sighed. He had to admit, the echidna had tricked them good. Again. He glanced around the cramped storeroom. Dozens of guards were stood all around him, each wearing the same disgruntled expression. _We're going to be here for hours. _He supposed the invaders had escaped by now. He hoped the Empress had found a safe place to hide. Still, how long would it be before they returned with superior numbers? How long would it be before their beloved home was desecrated and they were cast out or worse?

He looked over at Chamine, partly to take his mind off such troubling questions and partly to see how she was holding up. Unsurprisingly, she looked angry. Over the years he'd spent more time with her than anybody else, and he could read her face like an open book. When she was particularly incensed – and this definitely qualified – her left eyelid would twitch and her fingers would flex as she exacted mental revenge on whoever had slighted her. It was little things like that that had always endeared her to him. Sensing his eyes on her, she looked over and scowled. "What?" she asked pointedly. Larune shrugged.

_I think you're cute when you're angry._

"Nothing, really." She seemed satisfied with that and returned to her eye-twitching, finger-flexing routine. Now that he thought about it, Larune couldn't remember a time when he hadn't known her. Thinking back through the years, he smiled as a particular memory came to the surface. They were only children, running wildly through the winding tunnels they'd always called home. They'd seemed so much longer back then. Who was chasing, and who was _being_ chased, changed on an unspoken whim. Of course, that whim was usually directed by Chamine. _No fair! It's my turn to chase!_ "Fairness" hadn't been part of her vocabulary. He'd ran, and she'd chased, and they'd both laughed until they were panting for breath.

A pain sharper than anything he'd ever known rushed through Larune's mind like a tidal wave, drowning the remainder of the memory and leaving nothing in its wake. All around him, other guards were clutching their heads and crying out. His head felt hollow and heavy as steel. Through sheer force of will he turned it to find Chamine again. She was staring right back at him with an expression he'd never seen on a face otherwise as familiar as his own. _She's afraid. I've never known her to be afraid._

He tried to crawl towards her, to comfort her in some small way, but his limbs wouldn't respond. Nothing would respond. He couldn't breathe. He tried to open his mouth, to say what he somehow knew would be his final words. Words he'd always longed to say but had never been able to. _I love you, Chamine._ He willed the words to form on his lips. _I always have. _She was still staring at him, and now her entire body had joined her left eyelid in sporadic twitching. Her lips were moving soundlessly. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he thought she was trying to say the same thing. _And I always will_. The thought was erased as soon as it formed. It was the last remnant of the Erina Clan guard named Larune Amur.

A thick, oppressive silence blanketed the room.

_Secondary AI layer erased. Primary layer reinitialised._

Dozens of figures got to their feet in unison, their movements perfectly synchronised.

_Primary objective: Destroy Sonic the Hedgehog._

_Secondary objectives: Destroy Miles "Tails" Prower; destroy Knuckles the Echidna._

_Additional: Eggman is ruler. Eggman is king. All hail the Eggman Empire._

Unit EC-17 activated its weapons systems. The white glove on its right hand split open as the barrel of a laser rifle tore loose of the synthetic skin beneath. Along with the other units, it aimed and fired a volley of plasma at the rubble blocking the tunnel at the room's far end. It shattered into tiny chunks. Beyond, a red mammal stared at them in disbelief.

_Target identified as Knuckles the Echidna. Objective: destroy. All hail the Eggman Empire._

Every barrel swivelled to fix on the target. It returned a sheepish grin. "Ah, grapes," it said.

_Destroy.  
_

* * *

Sonic didn't see the laser bolt being fired, nor did he hear it sizzle through the air towards him, but he sensed it, and that was enough. He cartwheeled to the right just in time to avoid its searing kiss, and spinning around on his heels came face-to-face with Botor. At least, it had been Botor until just a few moments ago. The light of intelligence in the hedgehog's eyes had been extinguished, replaced by the blank, mindless stare of an automaton. Sonic didn't recall the laser gun that had replaced his right hand or the jets of flame erupting from his feet either, come to think of it.

The robot formerly known as Botor hovered above the lava lake, flanked even now by his two guards. Sonic supposed they had no rank or relationship now. They were just numbers from an endless production line. "You gave them life, Eggman!" he called, not taking his eyes from the artificial soldiers. Their weapons were locked on his position. "And you think it's fair to take it away from them?"

"_Life?!_" roared Eggman incredulously from the safety of his mech. "_Life nothing! They are tools! Commodities to be used and discarded as I see fit!_" Sonic locked eyes with the middle robot, the one that used to be Botor. "What do you say?" he asked it. "Are you a mindless tool or are you a person?" It didn't respond. "Remember," Sonic urged it. "Remember what you were just now. A person, not a machine." Still no response. "I'm giving you a chance."

There were three flashes of yellow light. A blur of blue motion, a sound like crumpling tin, and three broken metal husks plummeted down into the fiery depths. Sonic landed on his feet and turned towards the mech. "I don't suppose you're going to see the error of your ways and give yourself up?" he asked. "_Not a chance!_" came Eggman's reply. Sonic nodded. "Then take your best shot."

"_With pleasure! Egg Neus, attack!_" At his command, the mech reared back with an arm the size of a tree trunk and thrust forward with a punch that would crush Sonic into dust if it made contact. He watched it approach, legs half bent and eyes wide open, waiting for the right moment. The metal fist, dense and heavy as a wrecking ball, was only fifteen feet away now. He had perhaps three seconds before he was splattered like an insect. All the time in the world.

Sonic flipped up into the air just in time to avoid the colossal punch. The fist sailed under him and stopped, the arm connected to it extended to its fullest. Sonic's feet sailed over his head as he turned a perfect backflip and landed on the wrist. This was his chance. In Sonic's experience, the weakest section of an Eggman mech was the head, where the complex controls resided alongside the pilot himself. He set off towards it, running up the arm, his own arms held out beside him for balance and his sneakers a whirlwind of motion on the polished, fireproof metal.

"_Oh, no you don't!_" Eggman's voice boomed from up ahead. With surprising speed for something so huge, the so-called Egg Neus threw its arm outwards in a wide arc as if swatting a noisy fly. With nothing to hold on to Sonic was hurled away, spinning head over heels like a rock flung from a catapult. The uneven rock wall of the chamber rushed closer and for once, Sonic was glad to feel gravity pulling him back down. Flipping back to an upright position, arms raised above his head to control his descent, he landed neatly on the perimeter walkway. He was safe for now, but left without a way of reaching either Eggman or the Engine.

He turned to see the head of the Egg Neus split neatly down the middle. From it emerged a small, hovering craft that Sonic immediately recognised as the Egg Mobile. Shaped like the lower half of an egg – what else? – with two stubby wings and a comfortable leather chair for its pilot, it was Eggman's preferred mode of transportation when a gigantic mech was just a little too cumbersome. Sonic watched, unable to do anything else, as the dinky craft touched down beside the Engine and its occupant scrambled out. He was heading for the control panel, Sonic realised. He scanned the chamber for any kind of route that would take him back to the centre, but there didn't seem to be one. The distance was too far to jump and there were no platforms or bridges he could take… what did that leave?

Across the lava, Eggman disappeared into the Engine. Sonic's time was running out. He stared at the gap that separated him from his goal, as if trying to will a route into existence. There had to be something. After all, he couldn't fly over there. _Fly? _Sonic could have kicked himself! The answer had been staring him in the face all along.

"_Target data entered and confirmed._" It was the same droning computer voice Sonic had heard inside the Engine, now apparently speaking externally too. "_Countdown commencing. Twelve minutes remaining. Please retreat to a safe distance._"

Sonic touched a finger to his ear and hoped Tails was listening.

* * *

"I'm on my way, Sonic!" Tails promised, ending the transmission. He stood and walked towards the opening in the ceiling without any further hesitation. Sonic needed him and there was no more time to waste. As shocking as his discovery about Kefa – and the subsequent revelations he'd heard over Sonic's communicator – had been, he had a duty to fulfil. After all, he was a bona-fide hero now, just like Sonic.

"What… what happened?"

Startled, Tails span around to see the owner of the voice. Kefa was propped up on her elbows, one hand held to her head. She rubbed her temples tenderly, stretched her dislocated arms and legs – Tails winced at the loud _crack_ as they slotted back into place – and turned her head to look over at him. "Tails?" she asked, sounding tired. "What happened? The last thing I remember is…" She fell silent as her eye caught a glimmer of light reflected on the bare circuitry peeking out of her chest. She examined it carefully for a moment, before looking back at Tails, and then back at her own insides.

"Oh," she said.

* * *

"_Ten minutes remaining. Please retreat to a safe distance._"

"No can do," Sonic muttered under his breath. He'd been forced to stand and watch as Eggman targeted the Engine, strolled leisurely back to the Egg Mobile, and reconnected with the head of the Egg Neus. Whole again, the mech turned to face Sonic. He could almost feel the victorious grin beaming out of it. "_I have no more use for you!_" it bellowed. "_I'm afraid this time it's game over, Sonic!_"

"It isn't over until the fat lady sings!" Sonic retorted. "And if you even _think _about putting on a dress-" Apparently Eggman wasn't much in the mood for insults, as without further comment the Egg Neus raised both its arms and fired a series of missiles from the tips of its fingers, one after the other and ten in total. Sonic watched them streak towards him. They were long and thin and travelling in a straight line right towards him. Probably just about heavy enough to hold his weight. Probably. "Now _that's _more like it!" exclaimed Sonic, leaping forward to meet the closest one. His foot connected with it and as he'd hoped, it held his weight for the half-second he needed to make the jump to the one beyond. He hopped from each one to the next, playing a high-speed, uphill game of stepping stones with no second chances. Muffled _bangs_ sounded behind him as the missiles touched down. The Egg Neus grew closer with each leap, until finally…

Sonic slammed directly into the forehead of the mechanical abomination with the precision of a sniper bullet. He felt several layers of armour plating buckle and stretch before he bounced off and down to land on its bulky shoulder. Eggman's enraged voice crashed from the head beside him. "_You little! I'd like to see you try that again!_" Sonic grinned. "Me too!"

"_That does it!_" A shadow fell over Sonic and he looked up to see one of those massive fists descending towards him with the destructive potential of a falling chandelier. He dived away, grabbing hold of the opposite shoulder with both hands and hanging on for dear life as the impact caused the entire mech to sway. For a moment it stood petrified at a 90 degree angle. Sonic could hear the screech of stressed metal and crackle of punished circuits. Then it toppled like a tree before a lumberjack.

"Timbeeerrr!" Sonic called as he watched the perimeter of the cavern tilt to face him and rush closer. "_What have you done?!_" seethed Eggman from the cockpit. Sonic crouched on the shoulder blade, ready to jump when the time was right. "Don't look at me, Doc!" he said innocently. "Anyway, I think we've reached my stop!" He somersaulted clear of the stumbled mech and landed with a flourish back on solid rock. A bone-juddering _crunch_ assaulted his ears and the entire chamber rocked as the Egg Neus' face connected with the edge of the walkway. It lay slumped against it for a moment, as if wearied by the battle. Sonic watched as sparks danced along cracks that resembled wrinkles on the machine's face.

With a groan, it steadied itself and rose up to its full height once more. The head swivelled quickly from side to side as if trying to shake a headache, before focusing again on Sonic. "_You've done it now!_" Eggman vowed, his words trembling with ill-restrained rage. "_You've left me with no choice! Egg Neus, activate Phase 2!_"

* * *

"I'm not real," Kefa repeated, speaking the words tentatively, as if they were alien to her. "I'm not me." Tails said nothing. He'd explained the situation with as much consideration as he could, but nothing could lessen the impact of what he had told her. She wasn't pretending, not on purpose. She'd thought she was a real person with real memories, ruling over real people who thought they were real too. Tails couldn't imagine what it would be like to discover that you didn't exist, that you'd been created out of thin air to play a part in a fictional story.

Kefa was staring down at her chest, at the tangle of diodes and wires within. "Kefa Whitechest indeed," she sighed. With effort, her lips formed a weak, watery smile. "Although I suppose that isn't my name at all. I wonder if I even have one." She looked up at Tails, her eyes moist and helpless as a lost child's. "What do I do now?" she asked him sadly. "If I'm not me, then what do I do?"

Tails couldn't look her in the eye. "I'm sorry," he said truthfully, studying the floor at his feet intently, "but Sonic needs my help. The Tectonic Engine is going to wipe out Paladin City in less than ten minutes, and if I don't leave now it might be too late." Kefa considered this for a long moment, before nodding as if a decision had been made. She got shakily to her feet. Behind the tears her eyes were hard and focused now. The lost child had found something. "Then let's get moving," she told him. Tails tilted his head quizzically. "To the Engine," Kefa explained. "I know a shortcut."

* * *

"Phase 2?" Sonic asked. "What's that, twice as lame as Phase 1?"

"_Grarrr!_" screamed Eggman, pushed far beyond the limits of his patience and temporarily beyond the boundaries of actual speech. "_This is the end, Sonic the Hedgehog! Don't say I didn't warn you!_" Sonic nodded. "I consider myself warned!" He watched as the Egg Neus began to enter the intimidatingly titled Phase 2. The long metal spines on the back of its head swivelled around to frame the face in a ring of red steel. There was an opening on the end of each, and as Sonic watched they began to glow with a stark orange light.

"_The combined energy of these lasers is enough to vaporise the moon!_" crowed Eggman. "_Compressed into a single beam, it will be more than enough to eradicate you from existence!_" The points of energy grew brighter. _"Bwahaha!_" Eggman's voice was way off the hysteria chart. "_What are you going to do now, Sonic? _What are you going to do"

But Sonic wasn't watching the awe-inspiring power of Phase 2. His attention was fixed squarely on the space behind the destructive mech. "It's not me you should be worrying about!" Sonic replied with a smirk. "The question is, what's _she_ gonna do?"

"_What?!_" The head of the Egg Neus span 180 degrees and its unseeing eyes met the burning depths of those of the gargantuan figure stood behind it. "You were told never to return here," said Ignius in her calm, measured manner. "Your presence here is unwelcome." There was a blinding flash of orange light as Phase 2 reached critical mass and fired. The compressed beam of satellite-destroying energy struck Ignius in the centre of her chest and dissipated harmlessly. "Your presence here will not be tolerated," she said patiently, and struck out with a blow of her own. The crushing power of her fists may have been too slow to catch Sonic, but Eggman's mech, heavy and damaged, its energy expended, was not quite so fortunate.

Her blazing fist punctured the hardened back plate like a stone breaks the surface of a lake. Primary and secondary systems located at the heart of the machine burst into flame and shut down. The Egg Neus screamed like a wounded electronic dinosaur and staggered forwards, arms and legs flailing uselessly. "_No!_" wailed Eggman's voice from its head. "_Nooo! This can't be happening!_" Its legs buckled beneath it and it stumbled towards the perimeter. "_Not again! NOT AGAIN!_" In the nick of time, the hands came up and grabbed the rocky lip of the walkway, halting its descent just before the head came crashing down a second time. Disaster averted, it looked up. Sophisticated sensors and cameras on its surface – the few that remained functional – caught a glimpse of the oncoming storm just moments before it hit.

"_STOP! STOP! PLEASE!_"

The ball of blue lightning slammed into the weakened forehead one final time. Sonic bounced backwards just in time to avoid the first explosion. A cloud of orange-white flame ballooned out and gave birth to another, and another. A chain reaction of eruptions travelled around the head and down the length of the body like a long line of firecrackers. Only one sound could be heard above the din of the escalating inferno.

"_NOOOOOOOO!_"

The hairline of the terminated mech burst open and the Egg Mobile emerged from within, covered with soot, a black yolk from a burned egg. It hovered unsteadily into the air, rocking queasily from side to side. Its pilot, the ends of his moustache frazzled and his face as black as a stormcloud, glowered down at the grinning hero. "This means nothing, Sonic! You may have won this battle, but you're merely a pawn taking a rook! I predict checkmate in…" He consulted his watch, after wiping its surface clean with his sleeve. "Well, listen for yourself!"

His mech had tired of exploding by now, and in the relative quiet the tinny voice of the Tectonic Engine's computer could be heard once more. "_Six minutes remaining. Please retreat to a safe distance._" Eggman threw back his head and cackled hysterically. "Listen, Sonic! The energy has already begun to build!" Sonic concentrated. Behind the crackling of flames from the ruined husk of the Egg Neus, the hum of the Engine had reached an intensity that Sonic could feel beneath his skin. The gears that connected the Engine to the walls were spinning at such a high speed that they appeared as shimmering pools of rust. "You can't stop it now!" rasped Eggman. "In a little over five minutes, Paladin City will be nothing more than dust and echoes and there's _nothing you can do_! Ho ho ho ho ho!"

The Egg Mobile rose higher into the air. "Farewell for now, my dear adversary! And farewell to you too, oh great and mighty Ignius! Thank you both for your part in building the foundations of the Eggman Empire! Until next time! Ho ho ho ho!" And with that he was gone, the Egg Mobile zipping away across the chamber and disappearing into the tunnel that Sonic had entered by, the sound of his laughter lingering behind like a bad aroma.

"_Five minutes remaining,_" the Engine's voice reminded. "_Please retreat to a safe distance._" Sonic frowned. This wasn't looking good. "What's keeping Tails?" he wondered aloud. A scraping sound diverted his attention to his rear and he turned to see the wall behind him slide open to admit a familiar face. "Oh. Never mind." Tails stepped out of the hidden passageway, followed closely by a second familiar, but wholly unexpected face.

"Empress Kefa?" Sonic couldn't hide his surprise. At least she didn't appear to be homicidal like her compatriots. His eyes took in the exposed machinery of her torso. "Uh, are you okay?" She nodded. "I think so. And please, don't call me Empress. I'm…" She hesitated. "I'm not who I thought I was."

Sonic turned and addressed Ignius, who still towered up from the molten lake below. "Ignius! Is what Eggman said true? Is it too late to stop the Engine?" She leaned closer to them. Beneath her presence, Kefa's interior glowed with an orange light and she gazed up at the giant reverently. "It is true," replied Ignius, and while her voice maintained its slow, deliberate pace, there was a touch of sorrow in it. "I should have acted sooner. Perhaps I have become too old to fulfil my duty."

"_Four minutes remaining_," said the Engine's computer. "_Please retreat to a safe distance._"

Kefa spoke up. "There is a way to save your city." The resolve in her tone made Sonic and Tails turn and listen without question. "It's too late to stop the Engine," she continued, corroborating Eggman's earlier claim. "The energy has accumulated and it must be released. However, it can still be redirected. The target can be changed." Sonic considered this. "But where would we change the target to? No matter what, somewhere is gonna be destroyed."

"I'll set the destination for here," replied Kefa. "The Engine will destroy itself. Nobody will be able to threaten your world with it again." She smiled sadly. "Besides, there's nothing else here now. My people… that is, the Erina Clan… are dead and gone." Tails shook his head fiercely. "But you're a person! Even if Eggman made you, you still have feelings! You can come with us!" Kefa's eyes were moist and deep, and looking into them, Sonic didn't see a machine either. "I guess we're all programmed by somebody," he told her kindly. "Whether it's by Eggman or by nature doesn't matter, as long as you've got your own mind."

"I do," she said, "and that mind is made up. I don't belong in your world and neither does this weapon. The Order of the Erinaceomorpha passed away centuries ago and so must I."

"_Three minutes remaining,_"droned the Engine. "_Please retreat to a safe distance._"

"You must leave," Kefa told Sonic and Tails. "Take that passage, find your friend and get to safety before it's too late." Sonic nodded, and Tails, after a moment, did the same. "And if you meet Dr. Eggman again…" Kefa took a deep, shaky breath. "Thank him. For the memories he gave me. And the chance he has given me to do good, no matter what his intentions for me were."

Sonic nodded again, turned and walked away. Before he entered the passageway, he turned back and shot her a thumbs-up and his widest grin. "If the Erina Clan had had an Empress like you," he told her, "they'd probably still be here today." Before she turned away, Sonic thought he saw a teardrop slip down her furry cheek. "Thank-you, Sonic the Hedgehog," she said, her back to him. "And thank you, Miles Prower." Tails rubbed the toe of his sneaker against the ground bashfully. "When I first saw you… I thought you were beautiful," he said shyly. "And… I still do now."

That said, he turned and darted away up the passageway. Sonic matched his pace and within moments they were gone forever. Kefa didn't look back as Ignius lowered her enormous hand and beckoned for her to step aboard.

* * *

"_Two minutes remaining. Please retreat to a safe distance._" The voice of the computer was audible even in the tunnels above. "We're doing our best!" replied Sonic, increasing his speed even further. He looked back over his shoulder at Tails. The fox's twin namesakes span behind him like the engine of a motorboat, propelling him onward and allowing him to keep pace. Together they navigated the tight tunnels, winding their way closer towards the throne room and the exit.

"About time you guys showed up!" yelled Knuckles, hurtling from a nearby room and joining them in their sprint. "You wouldn't believe the day I'm having! Turns out all the Erina guards were actually robots! They've been chasing me for the last fifteen minutes!" Sonic smirked. "I've got even better news: the entire mountain's going to collapse in about… oh…"

"_One minute remaining. Please retreat to a safe distance._"

Sonic nodded. "You heard the lady!" Knuckles waved an exasperated fist at his back. "You've always got to go one better, haven't you?" he said accusingly. "By the way: duck!" The trio lowered their heads as an EC unit leaned out from a nearby junction and fired a volley of lasers in their direction. The beams sailed harmlessly overhead, and with the next corner taken the robot was swiftly forgotten. More memorable were the three-pack of former Erina that blocked the route ahead, but before they could get off a single shot they were thwarted as Sonic buzzsawed through the first without so much as a pause; Tails hopped clean over the second like an Olympic hurdler; and Knuckles sent the third careening into the wall with a stone-fisted punch. "Bring it on!" he roared exultantly, a challenge to anybody or anything else that dared to stand in their way.

The labyrinth finally gave way to the throne room, and to the heroes' relief they found the exit door sitting open, most likely from Eggman's escape. In single file they passed through it, shades of blue and orange and red as vibrant and indistinct as splotches of colour in an expressionist painting, and began the long spiral back up to the surface.

* * *

"_Thirty seconds remaining. Please retreat to a safe distance._"

Kefa finished programming the co-ordinates, resetting them to their own source, and stepped out of the cramped confines of the Engine. She gazed up at Ignius, who stood watching her, and smiled. "It has been my honour to meet you," she said, adding wistfully: "I would pledge my soul to you for safekeeping, if indeed I had one."

"Courage and compassion," replied Ignius. Her voice was calm and soothing. "These are not things we are given. They are things we must choose." Her gaze was warming upon Kefa's skin. "All things must end, myself included, so that others may take their turn. You have chosen well indeed."

"_Ten seconds remaining. Please retreat to a safe distance._"

"Do not be afraid now, my child."

Kefa closed her eyes and remembered. Remembered everything. Everything she had been programmed with, and everything she had seen with her own eyes. She remembered her guards and her friends. Remembered the man who, for all his faults, had given her the gift of life. Remembered strong, spiritual Knuckles. Young, innocent Tails. And finally, she remembered Sonic the Hedgehog, with his friendly grin and green eyes the very same shade as hers, and spines as blue as an ocean she had never seen.

Somewhere within her chest, amidst the jumble of wires and circuits, she felt her heart lift.

"_Countdown expired. Tectonic Engine engaged._"

Empress Kefa Whitechest knew no more.


	7. Epilogue

Halfway to the surface, the world had split in two.

As the three heroes had rocketed up the winding tunnel, spiralling back towards freedom and open air, Sonic recalled a brief moment of serenity, of absolute calm, as if the very Earth had held its breath in anticipation of what was to come. Then it had. An impact so large it seemed to shake the entire world. Each tunnel they flashed through had ceased to exist a mere moment later, swallowed up by the Engine's insatiable appetite. Shards of falling rock blinded them, a choir of thunder deafened them, and a final impact knocked the world out of focus as the Tectonic Engine ultimately devoured itself. Sonic remembered grabbing hold of his friends and running, just running, for the circle of bright light up ahead, the portal that would take them home.

_Good times_, thought Sonic. He stood alongside Tails and Knuckles on a plateau overlooking the devastated Lithic Sierra Zone. Below them stretched a round chasm several miles in diameter. The mountains that had formerly occupied the area were no more. They had crumbled like cookies and sank into the depths along with all that remained of the Erina Clan and the Tectonic Engine.

They were finally gone, but they would never be forgotten. Following their narrow escape, the heroes had returned to Paladin City and been offered their medals by the grateful Mayor. Sonic had graciously declined his, explaining that he had nowhere to keep it and wouldn't want to lose it. The Mayor had been somewhat disappointed until Sonic had suggested an alternative reward.

"_Kefa's Courage_," Sonic murmured, his eyes sweeping over the vast crater. The Mayor had been more than delighted to accept Sonic's proposal. At his request, _Kefa's Courage_ would be the everlasting name of the landmark, in honour of her final act of bravery. She deserved the title of hero just as much as any of them. It was too bad she couldn't be there to accept it. "Adios," he whispered, and turned away.

"Makes you think, though," said Tails from beside him. "Just imagine the good things that Eggman could do if he put his mind to it. If he started helping people instead of just trying to help himself." Knuckles nodded firmly. "Too bad we have to endure a million mindless drones for a single Kefa." A sudden gust of wind ruffled their fur. "What do you think, Sonic?" asked Tails. There was no reply, and when he turned, Sonic wasn't there.

* * *

At first, he ran like the wind. Then, he became it.

As Sonic the Hedgehog carved a swathe through the world, heading in no particular direction but forward, the words of Ignius came back to him. _You run and you run, but what are you running from? What are you running towards? _Sonic took a deep breath and filled his lungs with crisp, fresh air. He listened to a million sounds as they streaked by: the unabashed laugh of a child; the rustle of leaves stirred by the wind; the cry of a seagull as it circled above the ocean. His eyes took in the limitless palette of creation: the blue sky; the green grass; flowers of white and yellow and red, and so much more on the horizon.

At that moment, he knew the answer to her question. He ran because there was so much to see and do, so much to experience, and such little time to do it. If he stopped, he might miss something.

What was he running towards? He'd find out when he got there.


End file.
